THE    CENTURY  BIBLE    HANDBOOKS 

«»  .  ..  ..  "  ■■ 

Books  of  the  Old  Testament 

OWEN  C.  WHITEHOUSE,  M,A.,  D.D. 


BS  417  .C46  v.l 
Whitehouse 


Book  of  the  Old  Testament 


(lkf[iuM^_4Ci4^t^ 


CENTURY    BIBLE    HANDBOOKS 

List  of  the  Volumes  Issued  a7id  in  Preparation 

THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 

By  Rev.  Owen  C.  Whitehouse,  M.A.,  D.D. 

THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

By  Rev,  Prof,  G.  Currie  Martin,  M.A.,  B.D. 

APOCRYPHAL    BOOKS   (Old   Testament   and   New 
Testament). 

By  Rev.  Prof.  H.  T.  Andrews,  B.A. 

OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY. 

By  Rev.  Prof.  W.  H.  Bennett,  M.A.,  D.D.,  Litt.D. 

THE  RELIGION  OF  ISRAEL. 

By  Prof.  Peake,  M.A.,  D.D. 

LIFE  AND  TEACHING  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 
By  Rev.  Principal  W.  B.  Seleie,  ALA. 

LIFE  AND  TEACHING  OF  PAUL. 

By  Rev.  Principal  A.  E.  Garvie,  M.A.,  D.D. 

ST.     JOHN     AND     OTHER     NEW     TESTAMENT 
TEACHERS. 

By  Rev.  Prof.  A.  L.  Humphries,  M.A. 
THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 

By  Rev.  R.  F.  Horton,  M.A.,  D.D. 

THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  DOCTRINE  OF  CHRIST. 
By  Rev.  Principal  Adknev,  M.A.,  D.D. 

THE   NEW   TESTAMENT    DOCTRINES    OF    MAN, 
SIN,  AND  SALVATION. 

IJy  Rev.  Robert  S.  Franks,  M.A.,  B.Litt. 

CHRISTIAN  ETHICS. 

By  Rev.  Prof.  Robert  Mackintosh.  M.A.,  D.D, 


CENTURY  BIBLE  HANDBOOKS 

General  Editor 
Principal  WALTER  F.  ADENEY,  W.A.,  D.D. 


THE    BOOKS    OF 
THE    OLD    TESTAMENT 


THE  BOOKS  OF 
THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


:^ 


^^ 


OF  Pi 


A 


NOV  24  1931 


REV.   OWEN   C.   WHITEHOUSE,    M.A.,    D.D. 


HODDER   AND   STOUGHTON 

NEW    YORK 

1910 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.    PRELIMINARY 
II.    THE    PENTATEUCH 

III.  THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS 

IV.  THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS 
V.    THE    HAGIOGRAPHA 

CHRONOLOGICAL    CONSPECTUS 
INDEX  .... 


lO 
90 

179 


ABBREVIATIONS 

O.T.  Old  Testament.     N.T.  New  Testament. 

LXX.  Septuagint,  or  Greek  Version  of  Old  Testament  Scriptures 

made  in  third  and  following  centuries  B.C. 
B.  Vatican  Manuscript. 
A.  Alexandrine  Manuscript. 
S.B.O.T.  "  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testament,"  in  which  separate 

documents  are  distinguished  by  colours. 
L.O.T.  Driver's  "  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament "  (pub.  T.  &  T. 

Clark). 
I.C.C.  International  Critical  Commentary  (pub.  T.  &  T.  Clark). 
Hastings'  D.B.   Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible. 
J.  Yahwistic  document.     E.  Elohistic  document. 
P.  Priestercodex.    P^^,  Pe,  explained  p.  26  ff. 


THE    BOOKS    OF 
THE    OLD   TESTAMENT 

CHAPTER   I 

PRELIMINARY 

§  I.  Introductory. — The  Old  Testament  is  in  reality 
a  great  library  of  selected  literature  belonging  to  the 
Hebrew  race,  arising  out  of  varied  periods  of  its  life, 
extending  over  about  eleven  centuries  of  time,  roughly 
stated  from  1200  to  100  B.C.  It  will  be  shown  in 
the  sequel  that  the  so-called  books  are  in  many  cases 
composite^  i.e.  not  composed  by  a  single  author,  but 
made  up  of  distinct  documents,  each  with  distinguish- 
ing characteristics,  belonging  to  a  different  period  and 
arising  out  of  a  special  environment  or  set  of  cir- 
cumstances. These  literary  phenomena  have  been 
discerned  by  a  succession  of  able  scholars  who  have 
minutely  examined  the  style  and  contents  of  the 
different   parts   and    have    compared    them   with    one 

A 


2       BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

another.  Nearly  all  Old  Testament  scholars  in  Ger- 
many, England,  and  America,  who  have  been  trained  in 
the  universities  and  are  not  adherents  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith,  are  agreed  as  to  the  main  results 
which  have  been  achieved  by  careful  investigations 
carried  on  during  the  nineteenth  century,  though 
there  are  necessarily  differences  of  opinion  upon 
secondary  details.^ 

It  is  important  that  the  reader  should  realise  the 
immense  gulf  which  separates  the  modern  physical 
conditions  of  book-making,  since  the  discovery  of 
printing,  from  the  ancient  conditions  when  all  records 
were  laboriously  copied  by  hand  upon  such  rough 
materials  as  skins  or  papyrus  and  were  preserved 
in  rolls.  Errors  in  transcription  became  easy,-  and 
portions   were    easily   torn    off    or    became   worn   and 

^  Of  this  general  consensus  of  opinion  as  to  the  main  results 
of  the  literary  criticism  of  the  Old  Testament,  a  conspicuous 
example  may  be  found  in  the  large  band  of  contributors  to 
Hastings'  "Dictionary  of  the  Bible."  These  writers  are  in  accord 
in  all  essentials  with  such  expositions  of  the  subject  as  Prof. 
Driver's  "Literature  of  the  Old  Testament"  (eighth  ed.)  and 
Cornill's  "  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament  "  (sixth  German 
edition). 

-  In  the  case  of  Hebrew  it  must  be  recollected  that  in  pre- 
Christian  times  there  was  no  adequate  representation  of  the 
vowels  or  separation  between  distinct  words  in  the  written 
records. 


PRELIMINARY 


illegible.  Moreover,  writing  material  was  expensive, 
and,  when  space  sufficed,  other  matter  considered 
relevant  or  useful  was  incorporated.  Thus  it  is 
easy  to  see  why,  to  the  student  of  Isaiah's  oracles, 
certain  chapters  bearing  upon  the  reign  of  Hezekiah 
(Isa.  xxxvi.-xxxix.)  appeared  significant  and  valuable, 
and  so  were  incorporated  from  the  Books  of  Kings 
(II.  Kings  xviii.  13-xx.),  and  similarly  why,  in  the 
large  roll  containing  the  oracles  of  Jeremiah,  excerpts 
were  made  from  the  same  source  {cf.  Jer.  xxxix. 
4-12  with  II.  Kings  xxv.  1-12  ;  Jer.  xl.  7-9  with 
II.  Kings  xxv.  23,  24  ;  Jer.  xli.  i,  2,  with  II.  Kings 
xxv.  25,  26;  Jer.  lii.  with  11.  Kings  xxiv.  18 -xxv. 
20,  27-30)  in  order  to  illustrate  the  life  and  work 
of  the  later  prophet.  And  when  we  come  to  study 
closely  the  large  collection  of  oracles  comprised  under 
the  general  title  "Isaiah"  or  "Jeremiah,"  it  is  not 
difficult  to  perceive  that  other  oracles  belonging  to 
a  later  period  than  that  in  which  the  prophet  lived, 
whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of  the  collection, 
came  to  be  included  in  the  large  body  of  writings 
which  had  gradually  grown  up  around  the  original 
smaller  collections  or  rolls  containing  the  utterances 
of  the  great  seer. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  aids  to  this  critical  study 
of  the   Old   Testament    is    the   most   ancient   version 


4       BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

(or  translation)  that  we  possess,  viz.  the  Greek  render- 
ing that  was  made  between  the  third  and  first  centuries 
B.C.,  called  the  Septuagint  (LXX).  The  reader  will 
perhaps  be  startled  to  learn  that  the  earHest  existing 
MS.  of  considerable  extent  containing  our  Hebrew  Old 
Testament  scriptures  dates  from  the  tenth  century  after 
Christ.  Consequently  our  Septuagint  version,  whose 
MSS.  (Vatican,  Sinaitic,  and  Alexandrian)  are  much 
earlier  and  reflect  a  much  earlier  tradition,  becomes 
a  most  valuable  collateral  aid  in  our  study.  Now 
when  we  compare  it  with  our  Hebrew  text  (from 
which  both  our  Authorised  and  Revised  Version  are 
made)  we  discover,  especially  in  the  Books  of  Samuel 
and  Kings  and  yet  more  in  the  prophetical  books,- 
a  great  many  variations  in  text,  i.e.  additions,  omis- 
sions, and  other  changes.  In  the  prophecies  of 
Jeremiah  the  order  of  the  chapters  differs  consider- 
ably. The  conclusion  to  which  these  facts  lead  us 
is  that  many  different  texts  of  the  Old  Testament 
must  have  been  current  in  olden  times  preceding 
70  A.D.,  and  that  the  documents  themselves  must 
have  been  frequently  edited  and  in  other  ways  have 
passed  through  numerous  vicissitudes. 

While  Hebrew  scholars  have  been  busy  in  examin- 
ing the  Old  Testament  literature  and  in  exhibiting 
the   different    documents    out    of  which    the    separate 


PRELIMINARY 


books  are  composed,  other  scholars  have  devoted 
themselves  to  the  careful  investigation  of  the  vast 
number  of  inscriptions,  called  hieroglyphics^  which 
cover  the  monuments  of  Egypt,  and  also  of  the  in- 
scriptions called  cuneiform  (or  wedge-shaped)  which 
have  been  found  in  immense  quantity  in  Western 
Asia,  especially  in  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  This 
department  of  research  (called  Archceology)  has  en- 
abled us,  through  the  marvellous  labours  and  acumen 
of  past  investigators,  to  discover  the  languages  in 
which  these  inscriptions  were  written,  and  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  history  and  civilisation  as  well 
as  religion  of  the  great  and  powerful  races  that 
'lived  for  thousands  of  years  on  the  shores  of  the 
Nile,  and  of  those  who  inhabited  the  lands  of  Western 
Asia,  called  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  watered  by  the 
Tigris  and  the  Euphrates.  The  civilisation,  religions, 
traditions,  and  ideas  of  these  peoples,  especially  the 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian,  who  spoke  a  language  akin 
to  the  Hebrew,  exercised,  as  we  know  from  a  careful 
study  of  the  Bible,  a  profound  influence  over  the 
history,  life,  and  thought  of  Israel. 

The  study  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible  and  the  analysis 
of  the  Books  severally  into  component  documents, 
and  the  determination  of  the  relative  approximate 
dates    of    the    several    documents,    is    called    by    the 


6       BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

term  Higher  Critids??i.  It  is  important  to  under- 
stand that  Higher  Criticism  means  this  department  of 
study,  as  contrasted  with  Lower  CriticistJt,  which  is 
occupied  with  the  text  of  the  Bible^  and  endeavours, 
by  a  process  of  careful  comparison  among  the  MSS. 
as  well  as  versions  of  the  Bible,  to  determine  as  far 
as  possible  the  correct  text.  Higher  Critic  and  Higher 
Criticism  are  terms  frequently  used  in  a  very  loose 
and  confused  manner  to  designate  a  writer  or  teacher, 
or  his  opinions,  who  is  considered  to  hold  very  ad- 
vanced, rationalistic,  or  heretical  views  about  the 
Bible.  But  this  is  obviously  not  what  the  terms 
properly  mean.  They  are  merely  descriptive  of  a 
department  of  study.  A  "higher  critic"  remains  a 
higher  critic  whatever  views  he  may  hold,  whether 
traditional  and  conservative  or  advanced  and  revolu- 
tionary. 

Through  the  results  of  Archceology  we  are  enabled 
to  understand  more  clearly  Hebrew  history  in  relation 
to  the  movements,  ideas,  and  civilisation  of  other 
neighbouring  races.  Through  the  results  of  the  Higher 
Criticism  it  is  possible  to  place  a  passage  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  its  true  historic  setting,  so  that  its 
language  and  allusions  are  clearly  understood  in  re- 
lation to  the  events  and  ideas  of  the  age  to  which  its 
writer  belonged.     The  Old  Testament  becomes  thereby 


PRELIMINARY 


much  more  interesting  and  instructive,  because  it 
becomes  much  more  intelligible.  What  was  previously 
obscure  or  seemed  irrelevant  thus  becomes  lighted  up 
A'ith  a  new  meaning.  All  who  have  a  true  love  and 
reverence  for  the  Bible  will  earnestly  desire  to  know 
what  light  the  best  ascertained  results  of  the  Higher 
Criticism  and  of  Archaeology,  as  mutually  supplement- 
ing one  another,  have  to  throw  upon  the  pages  of 
the  Old  Testament. 

§  2.  The  Books  of  the  Old  Testament  composite. — It 
is  not  necessary  to  spend  many  words  to  prove  this ; 
for  the  books  themselves,  especially  the  historical 
books,  constantly  witness  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
based  upon  older  written  records.  Writing  we  know 
to  have  been  practised  in  Canaan  (in  the  form  of 
tablets  inscribed  with  Babylonian  cuneiform)  previous 
to  the  advent  of  Israel,  and  it  w^as  probably  carried 
on  from  the  time  of  Moses  downwards  among  the 
Hebrews  themselves.  Materials  for  history  in  the 
shape  of  royal  annals  existed  from  early  times.  Poeti- 
cal passages  such  as  the  desert-song  of  the  "Well" 
(Num.  xxi.  17,  18)  and  Deborah's  song  (Judges  v.) 
were  probably  preserved  orally  for  some  considerable 
time  before  they  were  committed  to  writing.  The 
Old  Testament  books  themselves  indicate  in  a  few 
special  cases  the  sources   from  which  they  were  com- 


8       BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

piled.  Thus  the  Book  of  YahweKs  Wars  ("Wars 
of  the  Lord ")  is  specially  mentioned  as  the  work 
from  which  a  short  poetic  citation  of  a  geographical 
character  is  made  in  Num.  xxi.  14,  15,  while  the 
Book  of  Jashar  is  specially  named  in  Joshua  x.  13, 
II.  Sam.  i.  18,  as  the  source  from  which  certain  songs 
are  quoted.  Jashar  (yashar),  meaning  "upright,"  is 
probably,  like  Jeshurun  (Deut.  xxxii.  15,  xxxiii.  5,  26; 
cf  Isa.  xliv.  2),  a  name  for  Israel,  and  the  Book  of 
Jashar  appears  to  have  been  a  collection  of  poems 
on  Israel's  heroes  and  their  exploits.  Both  the  Book 
of  YahweKs  Wars  and  the  Book  of  Jashar  pro- 
bably belonged  to  the  early  regal  period  (perhaps  the 
tenth  century  B.C.).  Moreover,  ancient  Israel  seems  to 
have  had  its  reciters  of  ^^ ballads"'^  ("proverbs,"  A.V. 
and  R.V.),  to  which  Num.  xxi.  27  refers  as  the  source 
of  the  poem  quoted  in  the  following  verses.  With 
this  we  may  compare  Isa.  xv.  i-xvi.  12,  an  oracle 
which  deals  with  Moab.  From  chap.  xvi.  13  we 
learn  that  Isaiah  is  here  quoting  an  old  poem.  Also, 
when  we  come  to  study  the  Books  of  Kings  we  are 
frequently    reminded    that    the    materials    are    derived 

^  So  Dr.  Buchanan  Gray  would  prefer  to  render  the  original 
Hebrew  word  on  what  appear  to  the  present  writer  good  grounds. 
See  his  "  Numbers"  (International  Critical  Commentary),  p.  299  ff. 
Respecting  the  Book  of  fashar,  see  also  below  under  §  13, 
footnote,  p.  81. 


PRELIMINARY 


from  older  sources,  viz.  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  Solomon 
(i  Kings  xi.  41),  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the 
Kings  of  Israel^  and  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of  the 
Kings  of  Judah.  To  one  or  the  other  of  the  last  two 
works  reference  is  made  in  most  cases  at  the  close 
of  the  record  of  a  monarch's  reign.  They  were  evi- 
dently official  annals  preserved  in  the  State  archives. 
The  Book  of  Proverbs  clearly  manifests  its  character 
as  a  compilation  of  sayings  derived  from  various 
collections,  viz.  what  are  called  "The  Proverbs  of 
Solomon"  (i.  i  and  x.  i),  the  "Sayings  of  the  Wise" 
(xxiv.  23),  a  special  collection  ascribed  to  the  time 
of  Hezekiah  (xxv.  i),  the  "Words  of  Agur"  (xxx.  i), 
and  the  "Words  of  King  Lemuel"  (xxxi.  i).  The 
Psalter  also  contains  obvious  indications  (to  which  we 
shall  refer  afterwards)  that  it  was  a  compilation  made 
from  previous  Psalm-collections. 

In  the  sequel  the  character  of  the  separate  books  as 
compilations  from  documents,  which  have  been  pieced 
together  and  can  be  definitely  traced  by  their  specialities 
of  language  and  other  characteristics,  will  be  more  fully 
set  forth.  The  conclusions  of  the  Higher  Criticism 
only  exhibit  with  greater  clearness  and  completeness 
the  general  composite  character  of  many  of  the  books, 
to  which  the  books  themselves  in  some  cases  bear,  as 
we  have  shown,  unmistakable  and  express  witness. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    PENTATEUCH 

§  3.  The  Pentateuch  is  the  Greek  name,  meaning  "  five 
hooks"  (pen ^e,  "five";  teuchos^  "implement,"  "vessel," 
being  used  in  late  Greek  with  the  meaning  "  book "). 
These  are  the  five  books  of  Moses,  which  are  so  called 
not  because  Moses  wrote  them,  for  this  they  do  not 
state,  but  only  that  certain  fragments  which  they  contain 
were  written  by  him  {cf.  Num.  xxxiii.  2),  Moreover, 
his  death  is  recorded  in  Deut.  xxxiv.  These  books 
are  inscribed  as  a  whole  with  the  name  of  Moses 
because  he  is  the  central  figure  of  the  last  four  out 
of  the  five  books.  Similarly,  the  Books  of  Samuel  are 
so  designated  because  Samuel  is  regarded  as  the  chief 
personage,  though  his  death  is  recorded  in  the  first  book. 
The  name  by  which  this  collection  of  five  books 
is  called  by  the  Jews  is  "The  Book  of  the  Law,"  or 
simply  "  The  Law  "  {torah),  or  "  The  Law  of  the  Lord  " 
(or  God)  (Ezra  vii.  10;  I.  Chron.  xvi.  40;  II.  Chron. 
xvii.   9,  xxxi.  3,  xxxiv.  14),  or  sometimes  "The  Book 


THE   "PENTATEUCH  ii 

of  Moses"  (Ezra  vi.  i8 ;  Neh.  xiii.  i;  H.  Chron.  xxv. 
4,  XXXV.  12). 

This  entire  collection  of  five  books  begins  with  the 
creation  of  the  world,  including  human  beings.  The 
early  beginnings  of  mankind  are  there  recorded,  special 
note  being  taken  of  the  origins  of  the  Israelite  race, 
with  which  the  narrative  is  afterwards  almost  wholly 
occupied.  We  at  length  reach  the  time  of  Israelite 
residence  and  bondage  in  Egypt,  the  deliverance  of 
the  people  under  Moses,  their  march  through  the  desert, 
and  the  promulgation  of  the  Law  in  Sinai.  This  last 
event  occupies  a  very  considerable  space  in  the  middle 
of  the  Pentateuch.  In  the  Book  of  Numbers  the  further 
wanderings  of  the  Israelites  in  the  desert  are  recorded, 
the  battles  which  they  fought,  and  at  length  their 
entrance  into  the  territory  of  Moab,  where  Moses 
delivers  his  exhortations  to  the  people  and  recapitulates 
his  legislation  (Deuteronomy).  In  the  closing  chapters 
of  this  collection  the  death  of  Moses  is  recorded. 

We  shall  now  describe  the  component  documents 
which  the  careful  researches  of  more  than  a  hundred 
years  have  clearly  shown  to  have  been  skilfully  woven 
together  in  the  compilation  of  this  work. 

It  is  not  unanimously  agreed  among  Old  Testament 
scholars  which  was  the  earliest  of  these  documents, 
but  it  is  held  with  good  reason  by  the  majority  that 


12     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

the  earliest  is  that  which  is  called  the  Yahwistic 
(Jehovist)  narrative,  which  consistently  employs  the 
name  Jahweh  (Jehovah  ^)  as  that  of  the  Hebrew  deity. 
This  document  in  its  earlier  portions  originated  pro- 
bably between  900  and  800  B.C.  in  Judah,  and  is 
designated  by  the  cipher  J.  Another  document,  which 
probably  began  to  take  shape  about  a  century  later 
in  Ephraim,  is  called  Elohist  because  it  consistently 
employs  the  word  Elohim  as  the  name  for  the  God 
of  the  Hebrews.  Accordingly  it  is  designated  by  the 
cipher  E.  A  third  document  belonging  to  a  much 
later  stage  of  Hebrew  history  is  that  which  is  called 

^  The  characters  J  H  V  H  in  Hebrew  were  probably  pronounced 
Yahweh  (the  character  represented  by  J  being  pronounced  as  Y,  and 
V  as  W).  This  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  Hebrew  proper  names 
{e.g.  Hezekiah,  Jeremiah)  which  end  with  an  abbreviated  form  of 
the  name.  But  after  the  exile  a  tradition  arose  that  the  name 
was  too  awful  to  be  pronounced.  Thus  whenever  the  characters 
occurred  Y  H  V  H,  the  Hebrew  name  for  Lord  {Adondy)  was 
pronounced,  and  the  vowels  of  this  name  Adondy  were  attached  to 
the  characters  Y  H  V  H  which  still  stood  in  the  Hebrew  texts. 
It  is  owing  to  a  confused  misunderstanding  of  this  strange  blending 
of  the  characters  of  the  old  name  (never  pronounced)  with  the  vowels 
of  the  substituted  name  Adondy,  that  the  name  Jehovah  arose. 
It  is  quite  certain  that  the  sacred  name  was  never  so  pronounced. 
The  LXX  translation  "  Lord"  {Kurios)  clearly  proves  that  from  the 
third  century  B.C.  onwards  the  Hebrew  word  Adondy  was  always 
pronounced  in  the  Jewish  synagogue  (as  in  the  present  day)  when- 
ever those  four  characters  of  the  sacred  name  occurred. 


THE    PENTATEUCH  13 

by  the  Germans  Priestercodex^  i.e.  Priests'  code  or 
Priestly  document,  marked  by  the  cipher  P.  These 
different  documents  interlace  each  other  more  or  less 
throughout  Genesis,  Exodus,  and  Numbers,  as  well  as 
the  Book  of  Joshua.  The  Book  of  Leviticus  consists 
entirely  of  the  legislation  incorporated  in  the  document 
P.  The  Book  of  Deuteronomy  must  be  considered 
separately.  It  is  based  on  a  distinct  document  desig- 
nated by  the  cipher  D,  and  took  definite  form  in  the 
reign  of  Josiah  in  connection  with  his  religious  reforma- 
tion, and  probably  preceded  even  the  beginnings  of  the 
document  P  by  nearly  a  century. 

At  some  period  earlier  than  that  in  which  the  Book  of 
Deuteronomy  assumed  its  present  shape,  the  documents 
J  and  E  were  redacted  into  one  historical  work  (J  E). 
It  is  not  improbable  that  after  the  redaction  of  D  the 
latter  work  was  combined,  either  during  the  exile  or 
after,  with  J  E.  Even  as  late  as  the  days  of  Malachi 
(about  458  B.C.)  the  system  of  law  which  prevailed,  and 
governed  to  a  certain  degree  Hebrew  practice,  appears 
to  have  been  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  institution  of  High  Priesthood  finds  no  place 
in  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy.  It  must,  however,  have 
arisen  meanwhile,  since  we  find  special  mention  of 
Joshua  the  High  Priest  in  Zech.  iii.  i  (about  519  B.C.). 
After  the  advent  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  to  Jerusalem 


14     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

a  new  code  was  introduced  which  was  embodied  in 
the  document  P.  This  document  includes  not  only 
some  of  the  narratives  in  Genesis,  Exodus,  and  Numbers, 
but  also  the  entire  body  of  legislative  and  other  details 
to  be  found  in  the  central  portion  of  the  Pentateuch, 
viz.  Exod.  XXXV.  i  to  the  close  of  Exodus,  the  Book 
of  Leviticus  entire,  and  Num.  i.  i-x.  28. 

Accordingly  the  documents  out  of  which  the  Penta- 
teuch was  framed  belong  to  different  periods  extending 
from  about  850  B.C.  to  400  B.C.,  more  than  four  cen- 
turies. They  may  be  ranged  in  the  chronological  order 
J  E  D  P.  It  must  be  remembered  that  in  each  case 
they  are  based  on  records,  whether  written  or  oral, 
far  older  than  themselves.  We  shall  now  proceed  to 
describe  each  of  these  documents  with  a  little  more 
detail  and  in  chronological  order  (as  above  stated). 

The  Yahwistic  Document  (J),  marked  by  the  use  of 
Yahweh  as  the  name  of  God,^  is  generally  recognised 
as  the  oldest,  and  exhibits  its  character  as  such  by  the 
simpler  and  more  primitive  traits  which  it  exhibits. 
Its  theophanies  or  portrayals  of  the  manifestations  of 
God  or   His  Angel   are  aiithropotnorphic  in  character, 

1  The  name  "God"  (^/<3^//«),  which  is  added  to  "Lord" 
(Yahweh),  is  the  addition  of  the  editor  who  pieced  the  documents 
together.  It  evidently  does  not  belong  to  the  original  text  (Gen.  ii. 
5,  7,  8,  9,  &c.,  iii.  I,  8,  9,&c.). 


THE    PENTATEUCH 


i.e.  God  manifests  Himself  in  action  like  a  human 
being.  He  blows  into  Adam's  nostrils  the  breath 
of  life  (Gen.  ii.  7),  walks  in  the  garden  in  the  cool 
of  the  day  (iii.  8).  The  term  used  in  describing 
the  creation  of  man  is  not  technical  (as  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis  by  P),  but  is  the  ordinary  verb 
employed  to  express  the  work  of  the  potter  who  fashions 
or  shapes  the  clay ;  and  the  material  out  of  which  man 
is  shaped  is  earth  (Gen.  ii.  7).  God  is  subsequently 
represented  as  repenting  and  fretting  Himself  that  He 
has  made  man  (vi.  6).  He  smells  the  sweet  fragrance 
of  Noah's  sacrifice  (viii.  21).  His  Angel,  who  is  often 
hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  His  own  Self,  converses 
with  Abraham,  accepts  his  hospitality,  and  partakes  of 
his  food  (xviii.  1-8).  Many  other  examples  might  be 
adduced  to  illustrate  the  simple,  childlike  conceptions 
of  God's  nature  which  this  document  exhibits.  And  it 
is  this  very  feature  which  invests  its  narratives  with  a 
special  charm  for  children.  For  it  reflects  the  spirit 
of  the  world's  youth. 

An  equally  marked  feature  of  this  document  is  its 
reverential  tone,  and  especially  its  deep  sense  of  human 
sin,  which  overshadows  the  early  narratives.  No  other 
document  in  the  Old  Testament  attempts,  as  this  does, 
to  fathom  the  mystery  of  human  evil  and  probe  it  to 
its   source  in   selfish  greed  that  follows   the  tempter's 


i6     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

lure  after  self-aggrandisement,  "Ye  shall  be  as  gods  in 
knowledge"  (Gen.  iii.  5).  This  lust  for  the  knowledge 
and  power,  embodied  in  the  arts  of  civilisation,  panders 
to  the  service  of  self,  and  not  to  the  service  of  God 
and  man.  This  tragic  story  of  human  life  runs  through 
chapters  iii.,  iv.,  ix.  20-27,  xi.  1-9. 

Many  of  the  narratives  respecting  Abraham,  Isaac, 
Jacob  and  his  sons,  come  from  this  documentary  source. 
And  it  should  be  observed  that  Abraham's  residence 
at  Hebron  is  made  a  special  feature.  With  this  should 
be  combined  the  feature  of  Judah's  leadership  in  the 
Joseph  narratives  in  this  document,  though  Reuben  is 
the  first-born.  These  characteristic  traits,  which  can 
be  supported  by  other  considerations,  point  to  the 
conclusion  that  this  Yahwistic  source  originated  in  the 
Southern  Kingdom. 

We  also  note  that  the  religious  practices  described 
in  this  document,  as  well  as  in  E,  differ  widely  from 
those  which  belong  to  the  latest  document,  P  (more 
especially  in  its  legislation).  In  both  these  pre-exilian 
documents  we  hardly  detect  any  separate  and  official 
priestly  order.  Any  individual — more  especially  the 
father  of  a  family  or  head  of  a  large  household — can  offer 
sacrifice.  The  patriarchs  frequently  perform  this  religious 
function,  and  there  is  no  restriction  as  to  place.  Mamre, 
Beersheba,  and  other  spots  are  all  alike  holy  places. 


THE    PENTATEUCH  17 

This  document  is  not  homogeneous.  Scholars  have  dis- 
covered evident  traces  of  an  earlier  and  a  later  stratum. 
The  earlier  (called  J^)  may  be  traced  in  Gen.  ii.  4(^-8, 
16,  18,  22-25,  ^"^^  portions  of  other  verses;  also  iii.  i- 
19,  21,  23,  iv.  I  and  portions  of  other  verses,  18-21, 
23-24;  vi.  1-3  (in  part);  ix.  21,  23-25,  27,  and  parts  of 
other  verses,  xi.  1-9.  Its  chief  characteristics  are  that 
it  has  no  flood  story,  regards  Cain  as  the  ancestor 
of  the  race  which  follows  the  fall,  while  Noah  is  held 
to  be  the  ancestor  of  Israel  and  Canaan.  Moreover, 
Noah  is  not  the  hero  of  the  flood,  but  a  cultivator  of 
the  soil,  devoted  to  vine  culture,  as  well  as  a  wine- 
bibber.  On  the  other  hand,  the  later  stratum,  called 
J2,  has  a  flood  story  in  which  Noah  is  the  chief  per- 
sonage, who  is  subsequently  portrayed  as  ancestor  of 
the  whole  of  humanity  after  the  flood,  while  in  the 
period  that  preceded  the  flood  Seth  is  introduced  as  the 
son  of  Adam  who  is  the  ancestor  of  Noah.  It  is  not 
possible  to  enter  into  further  detail  on  this  subject, 
upon  which  there  are  differences  of  opinion  (see  Cornill's 
Introduction,  §  11,  7).  The  date  usually  assigned  for 
this  later  stratum  of  J  is  about  650  B.C. 

The  Elohistic  Document  (caUed  E),  in  which  the 
name  for  the  deity  is  Elohim  (always  rendered  "  God  " 
in  our  English  versions),  possesses  many  of  the  char- 
acteristics which  we  have  already  noted  in  the  Yahwistic 

B 


i8     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

record.  The  religious  practices  which  it  describes  are 
the  same.  We  have  many  sacred  places  with  altars 
erected  in  them,  such  as  Moriah,  Bethel,  Gilead,  and 
others.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  most  of  these 
sacred  places,  e.g.  Bethel  and  Shechem,  belong  to  the 
Northern  Kingdom.  To  these  must  be  added  Beer- 
sheba,  which  we  know  to  have  been  a  frequent  resort 
of  pilgrims  from  the  Northern  Kingdom  (Amos  viii.  14; 
cf.  I.  Kings  xix.  3).  We  no  longer  find  Hebron  re- 
garded as  an  important  centre  as  in  the  Yahwistic 
narratives.  The  chief  role  is  assigned  to  Ephraim. 
He  is  the  heir  of  the^  promises  and  privileges  of  Joseph 
(Gen.  xlviii.  14  ^  ff.).  Ephraimite  heroes  are  placed  in 
the  forefront.  The  Ephraimite  Joshua  is  from  the  first 
the  attendant  and  comrade  of  Moses.  Similarly  the 
burial  or  graves  of  Ephraimite  patriarchs  and  leaders 
such  as  Joseph  and  Joshua  find  special  mention  in 
this  document  (Gen.  1.  24  ff . ;  Exod.  xiii.  19;  Joshua 
xxiv.  30).  Cornill,  indeed,  finds  in  the  narrative  by 
E  of  the  conclusion  of  the  covenant  between  Laban 
and  Jacob  traits  which  point  to  the  historic  struggle 
between  the  Northern  Israelite  Kingdom  with  the  Syrian 
State  of  Damascus. 

While,  as  we  have  indicated  above,  a  tendency  to 

^  Probably  Wellhausen  and  Kuenen  are  right  in  assigning  verses 
8-22  to  E. 


THE    PENTATEUCH  19 

localise  events  and  connect  them  with  Israelite  heroes 
belongs  to  E  and  J  alike,  we  find  special  characteristics 
in  E,  some  of  which  decisively  point  to  a  later  date, 
(i)  A  tendency  to  dwell  on  a7itiquarian  details  such 
as  kesiiah^  "piece  of  money"  (Gen.  xxxiii.  19;  Joshua 
xxiv.  32),  and  frequent  references  to  ritual  details,  as 
sacred  pillars  (Gen.  xxviii.  18,  22,  xxxi.  45  ;  Exod.  xxiv.  4) 
and  terdphhn  (Gen.  xxxi.  19,  30  ff.),  the  former  being 
treated  as  memorial  rather  than  divine  symbols.  To- 
gether with  this  antiquarian  tendency  in  reference  to 
material  objects  we  have  the  same  tendency  to  quote 
ancie?it poems  diS  in  Exod.  xv.,  Num.  xxi.  14,  27.  Under 
the  same  head  we  may  note  the  evident  knowledge 
which  this  document  exhibits  of  Egypt  and  its  con- 
ditions {e.g.  the  towns  Pithom  and  Raamses,  Exod.  i.  11 ; 
cf.  also  Exod.  ix.  31,  which  is  probably  E).  (2)  The 
style  is  picturesque  as  in  J,  but  less  spontaneous,  vivid, 
and  poetical.  (3)  The  theological  conceptions  are  more 
advanced  than  those  of  J.  Up  to  the  momentous 
revelation  of  God's  name  and  nature  as  Yahweh  who 
ever  is  what  He  is,  the  Unchangeable  One  (Exod.  iii. 
14),  He  is  called  in  the  E  document  by  the  more 
general  and  abstract  name  of  Elohhn.  He  participates 
in  human  life  as  a  Divine  providence  who  works 
miracles  on  Israel's  behalf,  but  who,  nevertheless,  dwells 
apart  from  man   in  heaven  and  manifests  Himself  by 


20     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

human  intermediaries  like  Moses,  or  by  angelic  per- 
sonages, or  through  the  supernatural  avenues  of  dream 
or  vision.  Such  is  the  main  theological  feature  of  this 
document.  A  result  of  this  conception  of  Divine 
action  in  human  history  is  that  Moses  appears  in  this 
document  pre-eminently  as  prophet.  And  it  may  be 
noted  that  in  this  character  Abraham  appears  in  the 
E  passage  Gen.  xx.  7.  (4)  Lastly,  as  a  significant 
accompaniment  of  the  more  developed  theology,  is  the 
higher  ethical  tone  in  E  as  compared  with  J.  This  is 
most  clearly  seen  in  the  Decalogue  of  E  (Exod.  xx.), 
reduced  to  its  simplest  form,  together  with  the  code 
of  laws  (Exod.  xx.  22-xxiii.  19)  called  the  Book  of  the 
Covenant,  compared  with  the  Decalogue  and  briefer 
code  in  J  (Exod.  xxxiv.  10-28). 

From  these  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  docu- 
ment E,  it  may  be  readily  inferred  that  it  was  pro- 
duced at  a  later  time  than  J.  Indeed,  from  the  occurrence 
of  like  phrases  in  the  former  when  compared  with 
the  latter  {cf.  Gen.  xxvi.  6-12  in  J  with  Gen.  xx.  in  E), 
it  might  even  be  inferred  that  the  writer  or  writers  of 
E  were  acquainted  with  the  document  J,  unless  we 
assume  that  both  documents  were  based  on  some 
material  common  to  both.  But  this  last  is  too  complex 
and  obscure  a  subject  to  be  discussed  here. 

The  date  of  the  composition  of  this  document  can 


THE    PENTATEUCH  21 

only  be  approximately  fixed.  It  cannot  be  placed  later 
than  722,  since  it  is  inspired  by  a  feeling  of  unclouded 
pride  in  the  glory  of  the  stem  of  Joseph.  There  is 
no  hint  that  that  glory  has  been  or  will  be  immediately 
overshadowed  by  disaster.^  The  calamitous  invasions 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom  by  Assyria  in  the  years  734- 
722,  eventually  culminating  in  the  capture  of  Samaria 
and  the  final  extinction  of  the  glory  of  Ephraim  (Isa. 
xxviii.  1-4),  were  evidently  for  the  most  part  unknown 
and  unforeseen.  Nearly  all  critics,  therefore,  from  Kuenen 
and  Stade  to  Cornill  and  Harper,^  are  agreed  that  this 
document  must  have  been  composed  at  some  time  be- 
tween 800  and  750,  i.e.  during  the  prosperous  reign 
of  Jeroboam  II.  (II.  Kings  xiv.  25,  27,  28),  perhaps 
as  much  as  a  century  later  than  the  earHer  portions  of 
the  J  document. 

As  in  the  case  of  J,  so  in  the  case  of  E  there  are 
evidences   that  the  narrative   is  not  altogether   homo- 

^  We  are  here  referring  to  the  main  or  earlier  body  of  the  docu- 
ment. It  is  not  denied  that  there  are  later  additions  (see  below),  and 
that  these  are  conceived  in  a  more  sombre  tone.  Cf.  Holzinger's 
"  Hexateuch  "  (in  German),  p.  226. 

-  See  Harper's  "  Amos  and  Hosea "  (International  Critical 
Commentary,  T.  &  T.  Clark),  Introd.,  p.  Ixxix.  The  summary 
given  by  Harper  in  this  and  the  following  pages  of  the  leading 
characteristics  of  the  "  Ephraimite  Narrative"  (E)  is  admirably 
lucid. 


22     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

geneous.  The  perception  of  this  fact  is  mainly  due 
to  Kuenen,  who  detected  a  later  stratum,  called  E^,  as 
distinguished  from  the  earlier  and  main  body  of  the 
narrative  of  which  we  have  hitherto  spoken.  These 
later  elements  are  found  by  Kuenen  in  the  narrative 
of  the  golden  calf  (Exod.  xxxii.  i-xxxiii.  6),  and  the 
Decalogue  in  Exod.  xx.  and  the  passages  relating  thereto 
in  Exod.  xiv.-xxiv.  These  passages  are  held  to  stand 
related  to  the  Ephraimite  calf-worship  in  Bethel  and 
Dan. 

It  is  far  from  easy  to  determine  the  date  of  these 
later  accretions,  or  the  source  from  which  they  came. 
We  might,  on  the  one  hand,  regard  them  as  due 
to  a  later  Judaean  redaction  of  the  E  document,  to 
which  these  later  accretions  are  to  be  attributed,  either 
in  the  days  of  Hezekiah  or  even  later ;  or  we  might 
regard  them,  as  Cornill  suggests,  as  originating  among 
the  NorthTsraelite  population  that  remained  after  the 
extinction  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  in  721.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  find  passages  of  analogous  religious 
import,  i.e.  denunciatory  of  the  idolatry  of  the  Northern 
Kingdom,  in  the  oracles  of  Amos  and  Hosea.  This 
would  point  to  an  earlier  date  for  E^  than  722  b.c. 
We  give  this  as  an  interesting  example  of  one  of  the 
unsolved  problems  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  Deuteronomic  Document,  designated  D,  and  the 


THE    PENTATEUCH 


Deuteronomic  redaction  of  Old  Testament  books  will 
be  treated  when  we  come  to  deal  with  the  Book  of 
Deuteronomy,  which  began  to  assume  shape  in  the 
days  of  the  Reformation  of  Josiah's  reign  in  622-1  B.C. 

Last  in  chronological  order  comes  the  Priestercodex 
(called  P).  The  style,  tone,  and  contents  of  this  ex- 
tensive and  composite  document  are  so  strongly  con- 
trasted with  those  to  which  we  have  already  referred 
that  there  are  comparatively  few  cases  in  which  there 
can  be  serious  doubt  whether  a  passage  belongs  to  P 
or  to  J  (or  E),  while  there  are  fairly  numerous  examples 
of  sections  which  are  assigned  by  some  critics  to  J  and 
by  other  critics  to  E  (or  perhaps  to  a  redactor).  The 
reason  lies  in  the  fact  that  P  arose  in  an  age  (exilian 
and  post-exilian)  whose  conditions  were  so  widely  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  the  centuries  which  preceded  it. 
And  these  conditions  impressed  themselves  on  the  lan- 
guage and  contents  of  the  Priestercodex,  especially  in 
the  features  of  its  legislation  as  to  cultus.  The  old 
national  life  of  pre-exilian  Israel  had  vanished.  At  the 
head  of  the  nation  stood  not  a  king,  but  in  the  civil 
government  a  Persian  governor,  and  in  the  ecclesias- 
tical the  High  Priest.  The  old  Hebrew  calendar,  with 
its  Hebrew  or  Canaanite  names,  Abib,  Bui,  and  Ethanim, 
had  vanished.  In  their  places  we  have  Babylonian 
names,  Nisan,  Marcheswan,  and  Tishri.     The  ecclesias- 


24     BOOKS    OFOLD    TESTAMENT 

tical  year  was  the  Babylonian,  which  began  in  spring 
with  Nisan  as  the  first  month,  and  the  months  are 
designated  by  successive  numbers  beginning  with  Nisan. 
This  designation  of  months  by  numbers  beginning  with 
Nisan  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Priestercodex  through- 
out, in  common  with  all  Old  Testament  literature  from 
the  exile  onwards,  and  it  clearly  indicates  the  influence 
of  the  exile  of  Israel  in  Babylonia. 

The  Priestercodex  or  Priestly  document  is  a  very 
considerable  and  composite  record.  It  consists  of  three 
distinct  strata. 

Of  these  the  earliest  consists  of  a  series  of  laws  which 
are  included  in  Lev.  xvii.-xxvi.,  called  by  Klostermann 
by  the  appropriate  title  adopted  by  all  critics,  "  Code  of 
Holiness "  (designated  by  the  cipher  P^).  The  con- 
cluding chapter  of  this  series  (chap,  xxvi.)  clearly 
proves  that  it  cannot  have  been  composed  earlier  than 
the  period  of  the  exile,  or  perhaps  shortly  after  it.  To 
this  subject  we  shall  revert  when  we  deal  with  the  Book 
of  Leviticus  (see  p.  38  ff.). 

Next  in  order  of  time  comes  the  extensive  work 
called  the  fundamental  document  (German  grimdschrift) 
of  the  Priestercodex,  marked  by  the  cipher  P^'.  In 
reality  this  document  is  also  a  legislative  record  thrown 
into  an  historical  form,  the  end  and  aim  of  the  history 
being  to  narrate  the  foundation  from  early  times  of  the 


THE    PENTATEUCH 


legislative  institutions.  That  the  writer  or  writers  of 
this  document  are  constantly  keeping  in  view  the  re- 
ligious institutions  of  Israel  is  evident  at  every  stage. 
Even  in  the  Creation  account  the  Sabbath  cessation 
from  toil  enjoined  in  Hebrew  legislation  is  fore- 
shadowed by  Gen.  ii.  3,  which  belongs  to  Ps,  while  the 
laws  against  eating  flesh  with  the  blood,  as  well  as  the 
law  for  the  avenging  of  murder,  are  referred  back  to 
the  age  of  Noah  (Gen.  ix.  4,  5).  The  narrative  which 
describes  the  circumcision  by  the  patriarch  Abraham 
of  his  own  household  is  another  characteristic  section 
in  the  narrative  of  this  document  (Gen.  xvii.).  When 
we  come  to  the  age  of  Moses  we  reach  the  central 
element  in  the  narrative.  This  central  element  is  the 
legislation  given  to  Moses  by  Yahweh  at  the  mountain, 
consistently  called  in  this  record  (like  J)  Sinai  (whereas 
in  the  pre-exilian  documents  E  and  D  it  is  called 
Horeb).  This  legislation,  in  those  portions  of  the 
middle  books  of  the  Pentateuch  which  belong  to  P^, 
falls  into  four  groups:  (i)  That  which  is  contained 
within  the  chapters  Exod.  xxv.  i-Lev.  xvi. ;  (2)  that 
which  is  included  in  Num.  i.-x. ;  (3)  those  laws  of 
this  document  contained  in  Num.  xvii.  ff. ;  and  lastly 
(4),  those  of  Num.  xxxiii.  50-xxxvi.  12. 

Where  does  this  document  reach  its  close  ?     It  might 
be  supposed  that  the  verses  in  Pe  which  refer  to  the 


26     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

death  of  Moses  in  Deut.  xxxiv.  7-9  would  be  the 
natural  end  of  the  work.  But  Kuenen  has  shown  that 
this  is  not  the  case.  The  document  can  be  further 
traced  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Book  of  Joshua  (xiii.- 
xxiv. ;  in  the  earlier  chapters,  but  few  verses  belonging  to 
P  are  to  be  found).  Holzinger  is  right  in  saying  that 
the  work  only  becomes  a  well-rounded  whole  when  to 
the  early  history  which  precedes  the  theocratic  system 
established  by  Moses  there  is  appended  the  realisation 
of  that  system  under  Joshua. 

The  promulgation  of  the  document  P°,  as  well  as  of 
the  earlier  "  Code  of  Holiness "  (P^),  belongs  to  the 
age  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  440  b.c,  nearly  a  century 
after  the  exile.  More  still  remains,  however, — another 
document  which  may  be  regarded  as  an  addendum  to 
Ps,  consisting  of  detailed  rules,  especially  in  the  matter 
of  cultus. 

It  is  with  Ps  that  we  are  chiefly  concerned.  The 
characteristics  of  this  document  which  distinguish  it 
(and  to  a  large  extent  P  generally)  from  all  other 
documents  are:  (i)  Like  E  it  contemplates  a  gradual 
unfolding  of  the  Divine  revelation.  The  name  of  God 
was  first  revealed  as  Yahweh  to  Moses  (Exod.  vi.  2  ff.). 
To  the  patriarchs  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  He  was 
known  as  El  Shaddai^  while  in  P°  narratives  (as  in  E) 
He  is  usually  designated  by  Elohim  up  to  Exod.  vi.  2. 


THE    PENTATEUCH  27 

(2)  We  do  not  find  in  this  document  vivid  colouring 
and  graphic  personal  detail  as  in  J,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  in  E,  but  well-planned  method  and  precise 
statement  and  constant,  sometimes  monotonous,  repeti- 
tions of  phrase  and  detail  as  in  Gen.  i.  ("and  God 
said,"  "  and  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  — 
day,"  "  and  it  was  so "),  somewhat  in  the  style  of  a 
legal  document.  (3)  The  language  of  this  document 
is  very  definitely  marked.  We  have  already  referred 
to  the  way  in  which  months  were  designated,  and  the 
mountain  where  the  law  was  delivered  (common,  how- 
ever, to  other  documents).  Mesopotamia  is  called  in 
this  document  Paddan  Aram.  God's  creative  activity 
is  designated  by  a  special  technical  name  (bara),  which 
came  into  use  apparently  in  the  days  of  the  exile.  In 
the  history  of  the  origins  of  Israel  from  the  days  of 
Creation,  every  new  stage  begins  or  closes  with  a 
"  book  of  generations  "  or  "  generations  "  (Gen.  ii.  4, 
V.  I,  vi.  9,  X.  I,  xi.  10,  27,  XXV.  12).  (4)  This  post- 
exilian  narrative  is  obviously  based  on  earlier  documents 
of  pre-exilian  origin.  Of  these  E  is  especially  utilised. 
It  also  presupposes  the  law  of  the  central  and  only 
legitimate  sanctuary  (Jerusalem),  repeatedly  emphasised 
in  D  (see  below).  Hence  we  never  find  any  record  in 
P  of  sacrifices  offered  by  Patriarchs.  Of  this  we  have 
an  example  in  the  contiguous  narratives  of  J  and  P& 


28     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

respecting  Noah.  The  J  narrative  contains  in  viii. 
20-22  a  reference  to  the  altar  built  by  Noah,  and  the 
sacrifice  of  clean  animals  as  burnt  offerings  thereon; 
whereupon  Yahweh  solemnly  declares  that  He  will  no 
longer  curse  the  ground  on  account  of  man  {cf.  iii.  17), 
and  that  the  course  of  the  earthly  seasons,  summer  and 
winter,  seedtime  and  harvest,  shall  in  future  continue 
for  ever.  In  the  immediately  following  section  by  P 
(ix.  1-17)  we  have  a  parallel  account  of  a  solemn 
covenant  between  Yahweh  and  Noah.  But  it  is  not 
here  accompanied  by  a  sacrifice  {cf.  also  xv.  9  ff.  [J] 
and  xxxi.  45-54  [J  E]),  but  by  the  covenant  sign  of 
a  rainbow.  (5)  P^is  distinguished  by  precise  references 
to  time  and  age.  Examples  may  be  found  in  the 
Flood  story  and  the  narrative  about  Abraham  {e.g.  Gen. 
vii.  6,  II,  viii.  4,  13,  xvii.  i,  xxiii.  i). 

§  4.  The  Book  of  Grenesis,  as  its  Greek  name  implies, 
contains  the  narrative  of  the  origin  of  the  Hebrew 
race,  carried  back  to  its  ultimate  antecedents  in  the 
creation  of  the  material  universe,  while  the  story 
ends  with  the  settlement  of  that  race  in  Egypt  or 
its  confines.  This  narrative  may  be  divided  as 
follows : — 

I.  History  of  the  world  from  the  Creation  to  Abra- 
ham., the  ancestor  of  the  Hebrew  race  (chap.  i.  i-xi.  26). 
The  history  is  here  presented  in  summary  form,  con- 


THE    PENTATEUCH  29 

sisting  in  many  cases  of  mere  names,  except  in  the  cases 
of  Adam  and  Eve,  of  Cain  and  of  Noah,  who  intro- 
duced new  epochs.  This  introductory  portion  of  the 
narrative  may  be  subdivided  as  follows  : — 

(i)  Creation    of    the    universe,    including   man   and 
woman.     (Chaps,  i.  and  ii.) 

(2)  Temptation  and   fall  of  man.     His   banishment 

from  paradise.  The  wickedness  of  the  race 
in  the  descendants  of  Cain,  accompanied  by 
the  beginnings  of  civilisation.  The  multi- 
plication of  the  race  and  growth  of  wicked- 
ness.    (Chaps,  iii.-vi.  4.) 

(3)  Retribution  of  the  flood.     Noah  and  his  family 

the  only  survivors.  Noah's  sacrifice  and  the 
covenant  sign.  Noah's  sin.  (Chaps,  vi.  5- 
ix.   29). 

(4)  Noah's  descendants.     The  building  of  the  Tower 

of  Babel   and   the    dispersion    of    the   human 

race.     As  contrasted  with  the  list   of  Adam's 

descendants  in  chap,   v.,    Shem's   descendants 

in   chap.    xi.    10   if.,    and    the    list    of  Noah's 

descendants    in    chap.    x.    contain    racial    and 

topographic  names.     (Chaps,  x.  i-xi.  26.) 

II.   The   sio?y   of  Abraham    and  his   descendaitts   in 

the    line    of  Isaac   and  Jacob    until  the   settlement  in 

Egypt    and    the    death    of  Jacob    and  Joseph    (chap. 


30     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

xi.   27-I.  26),     This   extended   section  falls   into  three 
subdivisions,     each     dominated     respectively     by    the 
patriarchal   names    of    Abraham,    Jacob,    and    Joseph, 
to  which  all  others  are  subordinate  in  significance, 
(i)  The  Abraham  narrative,  to  which  that  of  Isaac 

(a   pale   reflex  1)   is   attached    as    a   link   with 

Jacob.     (Chap.  xi.   27-xxviii.  9.) 

(2)  Jacob    story,    with    the    Esau    narrative    as    an 

accompanying    element  (xxviii.  10-xxxvi.    43). 

Here    Jacob    is    the    ancestor  Israel    of    the 
Hebrew  race,  Esau  of  Edom. 

(3)  Joseph    narrative,    in    which   the  stories    of    his 

brothers   as    well   as    of  his   father   Jacob  are 
interwoven  as   subsidiary   elements   (xxxvii.    i- 
1.    26).       Here    Joseph    is    the    ancestor     of 
the    Israelite   tribes    Ephraim   and    Manasseh, 
the  main  constituents   of  the  Northern  King- 
dom.    This    subdivision    concludes   with    the 
settlement     of    the     Israelite     households     in 
Egypt. 
The    following   table    will    show    how   the    subject- 
matter   of    Genesis    is   distributed   among   the   several 
documents  out  of  which  the  book  has  been  compiled 

^  Chap.  xxvi.  obviously  reflects  the  features  of  the  Abraham  story 
in  chap.  xiii.  10  ff.,  xxi.  22  fF.  Similarly  xxviii.  i  ff.  reflects 
xxiv.  I- 10. 


THE    PENTATEUCH 


31 


by  successive  redactors   (or  editors),  who  occasionally 
introduce  a  few  modifications  and  additions :  ^ — 


p 

P 

E 

Pe 

Ch.  i.  i-ii.  4a 

Ch.  ii.  43-25,  divided  between  J^ 

and  J2  (see  p.  17) 

Ch.  iii.  i-iv.  2      iv.  3-16^ 

Ch.  iv.  16^-24 

V.  22,  24,  29 

Ch.  V.  1-21,  23, 
25-28,30-32 

Ch.  vi.  1-4            vi.  5-8 

Ch.  vi.  9-22 

vii.  1-5,  10, 12, 

Ch.  vii.  6-8  in 

i6d-iyd,  22, 

part,    9,   II, 

23 

13-16^,  17c, 
18-21,  24 

viii.  2d,  3^2,  6- 

Ch.  viii.  I,  za, 

12,  i^d,    20- 

3^-5.     i3«. 

22 

14-19 

Ch.  ix.  20-27         i.x.  18,  19 

Ch.  ix.  1-17, 
28,29 

X.      8-19,     21, 

Ch.  X.  1-7,  20, 

25-30 

22,23,31,  32 

Ch.  xi.  1-9            xi.  28-30 

Ch.  xi,  10-27, 
31.  32 

Ch.    xii,    i-4<2,     xii.  10-20 

Ch.  xii.  ^d-^ 

^^~9  ... 

Ch.    xiii.    1-5, 

Ch.  xiii.  6,  ii(5, 

y-iia,  i2d-i8 

12a 

^  An  analysis  of  the  whole  of  Genesis  is  here  presented  to  the 
reader,  based  upon  the  results  of  the  most  recent  criticism,  on  which 
modern  scholars  are  fairly  agreed.  But  on  many  points  of  detail, 
as  is  inevitable,  there  are  divergences  of  opinion.  It  is  impossible 
to  exhibit  the  results  so  completely  with  the  remaining  books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  owing  to  limitations  of  space. 


32     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 


T 

E 

V% 

Ch.   XV.    I,  2a, 

XV.  -zh,  3(7,  5 

3-^.4 

6-21,  with  portions  from  E 

■ 

and  editorial  additions. 

Ch.  xvi.   xb,  2, 

Ch.  xvi.  xa,  3, 

4-7,  II-I4 

15,  16 
Ch.  xvii.  1-27 

Ch.    xviii.    and 

xix.  (except  29). 

Ch.  XX.  1-17 

Ch.  xix.  29 

Ch.  Xxi.  1(2,  2(2, 

Ch.  xxi.  (chiefly) 

Ch.  xxi.  \h,  2/'- 

S'^.  7.  33-34 

Ch.  xxii.  1-13 

5 

but   xxii.    14-24 

can  only  be  de- 

scribed as  J  E. 

Ch.  xxiii.  1-20 

Ch.  xxiv.  1-67 

Ch.    XXV.    1-6, 

Cli.  XXV.  j-xia. 

\\h,    18,    21- 

12-iy, 19,  20, 

26a,  27-34 

263 

Notes. — Ch.  xiv.  comes  from  an  altogether  independent  source,  and 
has  been  inserted  by  a  redactor.  It  stands  entirely  apart  from  the 
Abraham  narratives  of  all  the  other  documents,  (i)  in  representing 
Abraham  as  a  warrior,  (2)  calling  him  "the  Hebrew"  in  v.  13.  (3) 
In  introducing  the  Eastern  monarchs  Hammurabi  (Amraphel),  Kudur- 
Lagamar  (Chedorlaomer) ,  Eriaku  ( Ario'ch) ,  who  were  historical ,  together 
with  Melchizedek.  (4)  Peculiarities  of  style.  We  have  no  independent 
record  of  a  combined  assault  of  the  kings  of  Babylonia  and  Elam  in  the 
age  of  Abraham  (twentieth  century  B.C.)  upon  Palestinian  territory. 
The  chapter  probably  is  of  later  origin  than  the  pre-exilian  documents 
J  and  E,  but  how  much  later  it  is  not  easy  to  determine. 

Ch.  xvi.  8-10,  ascribed  by  W'ellhausen,  Kuenen,  and  Cornill  to  the 
redactor  of  J  E. 

Ch.  XX.  18,  ascribed  to  redactor  of  J  E. 


THE    PENTATEUCH 


33 


J 

E 

Po 

Ch.  xxvi.  1-33 

Ch,    xxvi.    34, 

Ch.  xxvii.  1-45  for  the  most  part. 

xxvii,     II -13, 
18-19, 21-23, 
&c. 

35 

Ch.   xxviii.  lo, 

Ch.  xxviii.   11, 

Ch.  xxviii.  1-9 

13-16,  iga 

12,     17,     18, 

19^-22 

Ch.  xxix,  2-14, 

Ch.  xxix.  I,  15- 

Ch.    xxix.    24, 

19-23.    25- 

18 

28^,  29 

28a,  30-35 

Ch.  xxx.  is  too  closely  interwov 

en  from  J  and  E 

to  be  safely  analysed. 

Ch.   xxxi.  I,  3, 

Ch.  xxxi,  2,  4- 

25-27,  46 

24,     28-45, 
47-54 

Ch.    xxxii.    4- 

Ch.  xxxii.  1-3, 

14a,  23<7,  24- 

14^-22,  233 

33 

Ch.    xxxiii.    I- 

Ch.  xxxiii,  5^, 

5a,  6-10,  12- 

II,  18-20 

17 
Ch.  xxxiv.  closely  interwovea  from 

J  and  E, 

Ch.    XXXV.    21, 

Ch,  XXXV,  1-8, 

Ch,  XXXV,  9-13, 

22a 

14,  16-20 

15,  2  2/5-29 

Ch.  xxxvi,  2-53, 

Ch,    xxxvi.     I, 

9-39 

5^-8,  40-43 

Ch.  xxxvii.    2^-36  is   closely  in 

terwoven  from  J 

Ch.    xx.wii.    I, 

and   E. 

2<2 

Ch.  xxxviii,  i- 

30 

Ch.    xxxix.    I- 

23  (edited) 

Note. — In  ch.  xxxi.  editorial  glosses,  especially  in  verses  47-54. 

C 


34 


BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 


J 

E 

PS 

Ch.     xl.     1-23 

(with       very 

slight  J  ele- 

ments) 

Ch.    xli.    1-57 

Ch.  xli.  46(?) 

(with       very- 

slight  J  ele- 

ments) 

Ch.  xlii.  2fl,  46- 

Ch.  xlii.  i,2<5- 

7,  27-28a,  38 

4a,       8-26, 
28^-37 

Ch.  xliii.  1-34 

Ch.  xliv.  1-34 

Ch.  xlv.  13,  14, 

Cfa.    xlv.    1-12 

28 

(with    slight 
J  elements), 
15-27 

Ch.    xlvi.    28- 

Ch.  xlvi.  1-5 

Ch.  xlvi.  6,  7, 

34 

8-27 

Ch.xlvii.  1-4,  6i, 

Ch.  xlvii.  12 

Ch.  xlvii.  5.  6a, 

13-26,  29-31 

7-1 1,  27^,  28 

Ch.    xlviii.    I, 

Ch.  xlviii.  3-7 

2,  8-22 

Ch.  xlix.   id-27 

Ch.    xlix.     la, 
28-33 

Ch.  1.  i-ii,  14 

Ch.  L  15-26 

Ch.  1.  12,  13 

Notes. — It  is  possible  that  xlvi.  8-27  may  come  from  a  redactor. 

That  the  blessing  of  Jacob  (xlix.)  was  included  in  J  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  allusion  to  the  overthrow  of  Reuben  and  of  Simeon 
and  Levi  appears  to  refer  to  Jahwistic  passages  in  xxxiv.  and  xxxv.  22, 
Note  also  the  praise  of  Judah  (verses  9-10). 

Gunkel  is  right  in  assuming  that  these  verses  were  the  songs  of  Israel 
in  very  early  times.  Verses  9  ff.  can  hardly  have  originated  earlier 
than  the  time  of  David,  when  Judah  attained  the  leading  position. 


THE    PENTATEUCH  35 

§  5.  The  Book  of  Exodus  derives  its  Greek  name 
from  the  fact  that  it  records  the  departure  of  Israel 
out  of  Egypt.  A  considerable  interval  of  time  separates 
this  from  the  preceding  book  of  Genesis,  which  records 
the  entrance  of  Israelites  into  Egypt  under  the  friendly 
protection  of  its  government.  Exodus  opens  with  a 
new  dynasty,  and  a  new  policy  of  repression  and 
slavery  towards  the  rapidly  increasing  Hebrew  popu- 
lation.    The  book  may  be  divided  into  four  parts  : — 

I.  Bondage  of  Israel.  Birth  and  growth  of  Moses. 
His  departure  from  Pharaoh's  court  into  Horeb. 
His  initiation  into  his  life-work  as  Israel's  deliverer. 
The  revelation  of  Yahweh's  name.  (Chaps,  i.-iv.) 
II.  Refusals  of  Pharaoh  to  release  Israel,  and  the 
infliction  of  successive  plagues  at  each  successive 
refusal.  Final  consent  of  Pharaoh  on  the  death 
of  the  Egyptian  first-born.  Institution  of  the 
Passover.  Departure  of  Israel  and  pursuit  by 
Pharaoh.  Miraculous  deliverance  of  Israel  in 
crossing  the  Red  Sea.     (v.-xiv.) 

III.  Israel's    march    through    the    wilderness     to     Sinai. 

(xv.-xix.) 

IV.  Laws    delivered    to    Moses    at    Sinai.      Worship    of 

the  golden  calf  Construction  of  the  Tabernacle 
and  the  varied  appliances  and  vestments  for  wor- 
ship,    (xx.-xl.) 

I.  In  the  first  four  chapters,  excepting  i.  1-5  and 
very  brief  insertions  in  the  same  chapter  and  chap.  ii. 


36     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

from  P,  the   whole   record   is   derived    from    the  pre- 
exilian  documents  J  and  E. 

II.  In  the  next  section  (v.-xiv.),  by  far  the  larger 
portion  is  derived  from  these  pre-exiHan  documents, 
the  chief  insertions  from  the  post-exilian  work  P 
being  vi.  2-12,  vii.  1-13,  viii.  1-3  and  12-15,  ix. 
8-12,  xii.  1-20,  43-51,  xiii.  i,  2,  and  xiv.  1-4,  8, 
16-18.  Of  these  P  passages  the  longest  and  most 
characteristic  is  taken  up  with  the  details  of  the 
Passover   celebration  in  chap.   xii. 

III.  The  third  section  opens  with  the  So7ig  of 
Miriam,  xv.  1-18,  which  may  be  an  expansion  of  a 
shorter  and  simpler  song  which,  according  to  Ewald, 
may  be  found  in  xv.  1-3.^  It  is  not  easy  to  fix 
the  date  of  the  song  in  its  present  form.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  this  section  comes  from  J  and  E,  E 
very  largely  predominating  in  chaps,  xvii.-xix.,  which 
are  almost  wholly  made  up  of  this  document.  On 
the  other  hand,  chap.  xvi.  is  mostly,  if  not  wholly, 
derived  from  P. 

^  More  probably  the  original  song  is  to  be  found  in  verse  I, 
repeated  in  verse  21.  Verses  13  and  17  clearly  presuppose  the 
single  sanctuary  of  Deuteronomy.  The  song  is  homogeneous,  and 
was  probably  written  about  540-538  in  Babylonia,  when  the  ex- 
pected restoration  would  naturally  recall  the  memories  ('"former 
things")  of  the  exodus  (Isa.  xliii.  i,  2,  16-17,  xliv.  27,  28,  xlvi. 
9  ff.,  xlviii.  3,  21,  1.  2,  li.  9,  10). 


THE    PENTATEUCH  37 

IV.  We  now  come  to  the  legislative  part  of  the 
Pentateuch.  Kuenen  is  probably  right  in  claiming 
chaps,  xix.-xxiv.  for  E^,  as  well  as  xxxii.  i-xxxiii.  6. 
In  the  first  of  these  E-sections  codes  of  laws  are 
included  which  are  of  much  more  ancient  origin 
than  the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century  (to  which 
E'^  belongs).  These  ancient  codes  underlie  the  Ten 
Commandments  in  chap.  xx.  and  the  Book  of  the 
Covenant  (Exod.  xx.  22-xxiii.  19),  a  compound  of 
old  laws,  some  of  which,  e.g.  the  laws  respecting 
murder  and  injury  (xxi.  12-27),  go  back  to  Israel's 
old  nomadic  days  preceding  the  settlement  in  Canaan, 
while  others,  such  as  the  laws  respecting  the  three 
annual  festivals  (xxiii.  14-19),  evidently  reflect  the 
settled  agricultural  life  of  Israel  in  Palestine.  Another 
much  briefer  code,  parallel  to  the  above  and  also 
ancient,  are  the  Laws  of  the  Two  Tables  (chap, 
xxxiv.  10-28)  contained  in  the  J  section  (xxxiv.  1-28). 
This  is,  in  fact,  the  last  J  section  in  Exodus,  and 
no  other  passage  from  J  or  E  occurs  till  we  reach 
the  Book  of  Numbers.  Chaps,  xxv.-xxxi.  are  a 
continuous  P  section  descriptive  of  the  Tabernacle, 
its  furniture,  and  other  paraphernalia  of  worship. 
From  chap.  xxxv.  to  the  close  of  Exodus  we  have 
the  legislative  ritual  details  of  the  Priestercodex. 

§  6.  Leviticus,  a  book  of  priestly  legislation,  as  its 


38     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

name  indicates,  consists  entirely  of  this  same  post- 
exilian  document,  but  some  portions  of  it  belong  to 
earlier  and  others  to  later  strata  of  the  Priestercodex. 
The  contents  fall  into  three  parts  : — 

I.  Chapters  i.-xvi.  Of  these,  (<3;)  chaps,  i.-ix.  deal  with 
sacrifices  ;  {b)  chap.  xi.  closely  follows  the  laws  of  clean 
and  unclean  animals  in  Deut.  xiv.  3-20,  and  is  evi- 
dently ancient  ;  {c)  chap.  xii.  contains  the  regulations 
respecting  cleansing  after  childbirth  ;  {d)  chaps,  xiii.- 
XV.,  regulations  respecting  leprosy  and  sexual  unclean- 
ness  ;   {e)  chap,  xvi.,  on  the  Day  of  Atonement. 

II.  Chaps,  xvii.-xxvi.  The  Code  of  Holiness,  containing 
{a)  laws  forbidding  sacrifice  except  at  the  central 
altar,  and  drinking  the  blood  (xvii.) ;  {b)  unlawful 
unions  ;  {c)  in  xix.-xxii.  we  have  varied  laws  and 
prohibitions  ;  {d)  chap,  xxiii.,  the  annual  feasts  {cf. 
Deut.  xvi.) ;  {e)  chap,  xxiv.,  miscellaneous  regulations'; 
{/)  chap.  XXV.,  laws  respecting  the  Sabbatic  year  and 
jubilee;  {g)  chap,  xxvi.,  final  exhortation  to  keep  the 
preceding  laws,  accompanied  by  promise  and  warning. 

III.  Chap,  xxvii.    A  concluding  chapter  on  vows  and  tithes. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  (p.  24)  to  the  col- 
lection of  chapters  (xvii.-xxvi.)  called  the  "  Code  of 
Holiness"  (II.).  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that 
this  document,  which  embodies  by  far  the  larger  por- 
tion of  those  chapters  (P^)  characterised  by  the  oft- 
recurring  formula,  "  I  am  Yahweh,  your  God  "  (or  simply 
"I  am  Yahweh"),  was  earlier  than  Ps.     Between  this 


THE    PENTATEUCH  39 

document  and  the  scheme  of  the  restored  common- 
wealth in  Ezek.  xl.-xlviii.  there  is  a  remarkable  similarity 
both  as  to  style  and  contents,  and  it  has  been  a  much- 
debated  question  whether  P^  precedes  the  Ezekiel 
scheme  of  legislation  or  follows  it.  The  problem  is 
a  very  complex  one.  It  has  been  generally  held  by 
recent  critics  that  chap.  xxvi.  (the  final  exhortation) 
appears  to  presuppose  the  exile.  This,  however,  does 
not  necessitate  a  post-exilian  date,  though  on  other  grounds 
an  early  post-exilian  date  is  not  improbable. 

The  redaction  of  the  laws  in  Leviticus  into  the  form 
in  which  we  now  have  them  may  be  assigned  to  some  date 
after  440  e.g.,  when  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  introduced  their 
reforms.  But  a  careful  distinction  must  be  drawn  between 
the  redaction  or  editing  of  the  laws  and  their  origin, 
"  The  laws  embody  usages,  many  of  which  are  doubtless 
in  their  origin  of  great  antiquity,  though  they  have  been 
variously  modified  and  developed  as  time  went  on."  ^ 

§  7.  The  Book  of  Numbers  is  a  composite  work  con- 
sisting of  extracts  from  all  three  documents  P,  J,  and  E, 
the  legal  portions  belonging  to  P  and  the  narrative 
portions  for  the  most  part  belonging  to  J  and  E.  To 
these  latter  sources  the  poetic  fragments  also  belong. 
The  book  falls  into  the  following  divisions : — 

I.  Chaps,  i.-x.  28  (entirely  P)  begins  with  an  enumera- 
1  Driver  and  White  in  "Leviticus"  (S.B.O.T.). 


40     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

tion  of  the  Israelite  tribes  and  their  clans  and  "  fathers' 
houses,"  with  the  total  male  population  capable  of 
bearing  arms,  over  twenty  years  of  age,  of  each  tribe 
and  of  the  entire  people  (i.  1-46),  the  tribe  of  Levi 
excepted,  whose  special  religious  functions  are  described 
(i.  47-54).  Then  follow  the  camp  divisions  for  the 
separate  tribes  and  the  order  of  march  (ii.  1-34);  the 
enumeration  of  the  families  of  the  Levites  and  the 
apportionment  of  their  several  places  and  functions 
(iii.  1-39);  laws  respecting  the  first-born  (iii.  40-51); 
regulations  respecting  the  "  tent-of-meeting  "  and  its  fur- 
niture ;  priestly  'services  of  the  various  Levitical  families 
(iv.  1-49);  laws  respecting  uncleanness  (v.  1-3 1),  the 
Nazirite  (vi.  1-2 1),  the  words  of  benediction  (verses  22- 
27),  offerings  of  the  tribal  representatives  at  the  altar  (vii. 
1-89),  service  of  the  lamps,  and  also  the  cleansing  and 
dedication  of  the  Levites  (viii.  1-26).  Then  come 
varied  instructions  respecting  the  passover  and  tokens  for 
halting  or  marching,  the  use  of  the  two  silver  trumpets, 
and  details  respecting  the  onward  march  (ix.  i-x.  28). 

II.  Chaps.  X.  29 -XXV.  18  contain  the  narrative  of 
Israel's  march  till  they  entered  the  Moabite  territory. 
In  this  section,  however,  it  should  be  noted  that  the 
enumeration  of  the  spies  in  chap.  xiii.  1-17^,  xiv.  26-38, 
chap.  XV.  1-4 1  on  sacrificial  offerings,  stoning  for 
Sabbath-breaking,  and  fringes,  chap.  xvi.  1-35  in  large 


THE    PENTATEUCH  41 

part,  dealing  with  the  sin  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram, 
and  chap.  xvi.  36  (xvii.  i  Heb.) — xx.  13  entire  and 
without  a  break — all  these  may  be  safely  assigned  to  P, 
and  contain  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  this 
document.  Chap,  xviii.  in  this  last  group  of  chapters 
contains  the  laws  respecting  tithes  and  other  priestly  dues, 
and  the  rites  of  purification  by  water  for  those  who  have 
touched  a  dead  body.  While  chap.  xx.  14-21,  respect- 
ing the  passage  through  Edom,  belong  to  E,  verses  23-29 
are  again  a  P  passage.  On  the  other  hand,  the  episodes 
which  follow  (xxi.  i-xxv.  5),  including  the  story  of  Balaam 
and  Balak,  belong  almost  absolutely  to  J  E,  more  especi- 
ally to  E.  The  concluding  chapter  of  this  second  part 
belongs  to  a  large  extent  to  P  (xxv.  6-19),  descriptive 
of  the  sin  with  a  Midianitish  woman  and  its  chastise- 
ment, a  warning  against  mixed  marriages  {cf.  Ezra  ix.,  x., 
Neh.  xiii.  23  ff.).  This  passage  is  appended  to  a  short 
J  E  section,  xxv.  1-5,  which  narrates  the  sin  of  Baal 
Peor. 

HI.  The  concluding  portion  of  this  book,  chaps. 
xxvi.-xxxvi.,  belongs  almost  entirely  to  P.  It  contains 
a  second  tribal  enumeration  of  the  surviving  Israelites 
(xxvi.),  the  story  of  the  daughters  of  Zelophehad  and 
the  law  of  female  inheritance  (xxvii.  i-ii),  appoint- 
ment of  Joshua  to  be  successor  of  Moses  (xxvii.  12-23), 
laws  respecting  offerings  (xxviii.),  feast  of  trumpets  and 


42     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

sacrificial  ritual  laws  (xxix.),  laws  respecting  vows  of 
men  and  of  women  (xxx.),  war  with  and  slaughter  of 
Midianites,  the  spoil  divided  between  the  people  and 
the  sanctuary  (xxxi.),  a  trans-Jordanic  district  assigned 
to  Reuben,  Gad  and  half  Manasseh  (xxxii.  1-38).  A 
short  T  section  (verses  39-42),  descriptive  of  the  con- 
quest of  Gilead  by  Manassite  clans,  concludes  this 
chapter.  Chap,  xxxiii.  1-49  contains  a  list  of  the  stages 
in  the  march,  with  a  short  reference  to  Aaron's  death 
on  Mount  Hor.  This  section  is  probably  a  compilation 
from  varied  sources,  P,  J,  E,  and  D.  It  may  have  been 
added  by  the  redactor.  The  rest  of  the  book  belongs 
altogether  to  P,  and  deals  with  the  prospective  division 
of  Canaan  among  the  tribes  and  the  special  arrange- 
ments to  be  made  on  behalf  of  the  tribe  of  Levi 
(xxxiv.  I -XXXV.  8).  There  follow  the  laws  respecting 
the  manslayer  and  the  city  of  refuge  (xxxv.  9-34). 
Chap,  xxxvi.  lays  down  the  laws  which  regulate  marriage 
with  female  heirs. 

The  poetic  fragments  in  chap.  xxi.  come  from  E, 
who  borrowed  them  from  the  "Book  of  the  Wars  of 
the  Lord,"  a  collection  of  popular  songs  or  poems,  some 
of  which,  especially  the  Song  of  the  JVe/l  (verses  17,  18), 
may  be,  like  the  Song  of  Deborah,  very  ancient,  and 
even  extend  to  the  old  nomadic  days  of  Israel's  life. 
By  Stade  verses  27-30  are  referred  to  the  time  of  the 


THE    PENTATEUCH  43 

wars  against  Moab  by  Omri  (885  b.c.  circ.)}  The 
poetic  utterances  of  Balaam  come  from  the  documen- 
tary sources  J  and  E. ;  xxiv.  17-19  are  evidently  allusive 
to  David's  conquering  exploits  {cf.  II.  Sam.  viii.  2,  13, 
14,  and  Ps.  Ix.)  and  are  probably  of  Judaean  origin. 

§  8.  The  Book  of  Deuteronomy ,  which  means  repetition 
of  the  law,  stands  altogether  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
Pentateuch.  Hardly  a  trace  of  the  documentary  sources 
J,  E,  and  P  appear  in  it.  It  is  only  when  we  come  to 
the  close  of  this  Mosaic  history  and  the  narrative  of 
the  death  of  Moses  that  we  once  more  light  on  traces 
of  those  documents.  Thus  xxvii.  5-7  (contrary  to  the 
law  of  single  sanctuary),  xxxi.  14-15,  23,  seem  to 
rest  upon  an  E  basis,  while  in  xxxiv.  1-7  there  are 
evident  traits  of  J,  and  in  xxxii.  48-52  and  xxxiv.  i, 
8-9  we  clearly  recognise  P.  The  book  falls  most 
naturally  into  the  following  divisions : — 

I.  Retrospective  address  by  Moses,  accompanied  by  ex- 
hortations, special  instructions,  and  a  repetition  of 
the  decalogue  and  warnings  against  idolatry  (chaps, 
i.-xi.),  delivered  in  the  land  of  Moab  (Deut.  i.  5). 
II.  The  Deiiteronoinic  legislation  (chaps,  xii. -xxvi.). 
Chaps,    xii.,   xiii.,   containing   warnings    against    the 

^  In  the  commentary  on  Isaiah  ("  Century  Bible")  it  is  assigned 
with  Isa.  XV.  i-xvi.  12  to  the  time  of  Jeroboam  II.  (a  century 
later). 


44     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

worship  of  "  other  gods "  ;  enforcement  of  the  law 
of  the  single  sanctuary,  "  the  place  that  the  Lord 
shall  choose  [to  put  His  name  there],"  xii.  5,  6,  18. 
Chap.  xiv.  contains  the  laws  of  clean  and  unclean 
animals  {cf.  Lev.  xi.).  Chap,  xv.,  law  of  release  and 
of  firstling  males.  Chap,  xvi.,  the  three  annual 
festivals,  with  feast  of  passover  connected  with  feast 
of  unleavened  bread  ;  law  respecting  judges  and 
prohibition  of  Asherah  and  pillar.  Chap,  xvii.,  re- 
specting unblemished  offerings,  judgment,  kingship 
and  the  king's  duties.  Chap,  xviii.,  priesthood  of 
Levites  and  their  sacrificial  portion  ;  prohibition  of 
sorcery,  necromancy,  and  divination,  and  enforce- 
ment of  the  claims  of  Yahweh's  prophet.  Chap,  xix., 
respecting  manslaughter  and  blood  revenge  —  the 
sacredness  of  the  landmark — on  witnesses.  Chaps. 
xx.-xxv.  deal  with  war,  murder,  marriage,  criminal  pro- 
cedure, just  weights  and  measures,  and  other  details  of 
family,,  social,  and  agricultural  hfe.  Chap,  xxvi.,  in- 
junctions respecting  firstfruits,  and  final  exhortation. 
in.  The  last  days  of  Moses  (chaps,  xxvii. -xxxiv.). 
Chap,  xxvii.,  great  plaistered  stones  on  Mount  Ebal 
to  be  inscribed  with  the  law  ;  curses  on  evil  doing. 
Chaps,  xxix.-xxx.,  covenant  with  Israel  (continued), 
blessings  on  fulfilment  and  curses  on  non-fulfilment 
of  the  law,  followed  by  a  prophetic-hortatory  discourse. 
Chap,  xxxi.,  parting  address  by  Moses.  Chap,  xxxii., 
Song  of  Moses,  followed  by  a  brief  exhortation  ;  and 
lastly  a  command  to  Moses  to  proceed  to  Mount 
Nebo,  where  he  is  to  die.     Chap,  xxxiii.  is  the  Bless- 


THE    PENTATEUCH  45 

ing  of  Moses  on  the  tribes  of  Israel,  parallel  to  the 
Blessing  of  Jacob  in  Gen.  xlix.  The  book  closes 
with  the  death,  burial,  and  praise  of  Moses  (chap, 
xxxiv.). 

We  shall  begin  with  the  legislative  portion  {i.e.  H.) 
which  forms  the  kernel  of  the  book,  viz.  chaps,  xii.-xxvl. 
A  comparison  of  this,  as  well  as  the  earlier  portion  of 
Deuteronomy,  reveals  the  fact  that  both  are  dependent 
on  the  earlier  documents  J  and  E,  especially  E.     With- 
out going  into  detail,  it  is  sufficient  to  note   the  fact 
that   the  legislation  mainly  consists  in  repetitions  and 
expansions   of  the   provisions    in   the    "  Book    of   the 
Covenant"  (Exod.  xxi.-xxiii.),  incorporated  in  the  docu- 
ment E.     Similarly  the  Decalogue  in  Deut.  v.  7-21  is 
another  edition  of  that  in  Exod.  xx.  (E).     On  the  other 
hand,    the   legislative   provisions    constitute   a   distinct 
advance  on  those  of  the  earlier  and   briefer  code  in 
Exod.  xxi.-xxiii.     This  it  is  most  important  to  note. 
{a)  The  tribe  of  Levi  acquires  an  exceptional  importance 
unknown  to  the  earlier   codes  (Exod.   xx.   22- 
xxiii.    19   [E]   and  Exod.  xxxiv.   10-28   [J]),   all 
priestly    functions    being    concentrated    in    this 
priestly  tribe. 
{b)  Repeated  reference  is  made  to  the  single  sanctuary 
which  "  Yahweh  has  chosen  to  place  his  name 
there"   (Deut.    xii.    5,    18,    21,    xvi.   6,    11,    16, 


46     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

xxvi.  2)  as  the  only  legitimate  place  for  sacrifice 
(see  especially  xii.  5-7  and  20,  21). 
(c)  In  xvi.  (c/.  Exod.  xxiii.  14-17)  Passover^  which  is 
ignored    in    the    earlier    legislative   codes,    now 
acquires  special  importance  in  close  connection 
with  the  feast  of  unleavened  cakes.     The  "  feast 
of   ingathering"    is    now   called    the    "feast    of 
booths  "  ("  tabernacles  "). 
{d)    The  humanitarian    traits   of  the    Deuteronomic 
legislation,  when  compared  with  the  earlier  codes, 
show   a    considerable    advance,    unquestionably 
due  to   prophetic    influence.     This   is   specially 
marked  in  the  treatment  of  slaves  (see  Hastings, 
D.B.,  art.  Servant,  Slave),  of  the  poor,  the  father- 
less, and  the  widow. 
To  what  period  does  this  more  advanced  legislation 
belong  ?     There  are  many  reasons  which  clearly  indicate 
that  the  promulgation  of  the  code  must  be  connected 
with   the   reforms   in  worship  in   the  reign   of  Josiah 
(622-1    B.C.).      The    following    parallels    between    the 
features    in    that    reformation    detailed    in    II.    Kings 
and  the  provisions  of  the  Deuteronomic  legislation  will 
corroborate  this  statement. 

(i)  Asherah  and  vessels  destroyed,  II.  Kings  xxiii.  4, 
6,  14,  15  5  C/-  Deut.  xii.  3. 

(2)  Host  of  Heaven  not  to  be  worshipped,  II.  Kings 


THE    PENTATEUCH  47 

xxiii.  4;  cf.  xxi.  3,  where  the  practices  of  the  reign  of 
Manasseh  are  referred  to.  This  was  an  innovation 
practised  by  the  kings  after  the  time  of  Ahaz;  cf. 
Deut.  xvii.  3. 

(3)  Destruction  of  Sodomites'  houses,  II.  Kings  xxiii. 
7  ;  cf.  Deut.  xxiii.  17,  18. 

(4)  High  places  profaned  ("  defiled  "),  i.e.  abolished, 
and  its  priests  removed,  II.  Kings  xxiii.  8.  With  this 
connect  the  law  of  the  single  sanctuary,  Deut.  xii.  2-5, 
with  the  command  to  destroy  the  high  places. — The 
eighth-century  prophets,  though  acutely  conscious  of 
the  evils  of  the  "high  places,"  nevertheless  did  not 
prohibit  them.  Both  J  and  E  represent  patriarchs  as 
sacrificing  at  Bethel,  Shechem,  Beersheba,  &:c.  So 
also  we  find  kings  and  prophets  doing  in  the  Books 
of  Samuel  and  Kings. 

(5)  Molech  worship  and  child  sacrifice  ("  making 
to  pass  through  the  fire ")  suppressed,  II.  Kings  xxiii. 
10  ;  cf.  the  prohibition  in  Deut.  xviii.  10. 

(6)  Pillars  destroyed,  II.  Kings  xxiii.  14;  cf  the 
command  to  break  them  in  pieces  in  Deut.  xii.  3 ;  cf 
xvi.  22.  Earlier  codes  do  not  require  this.  Isa.  xix. 
19  assumes  their  legitimacy. 

(7)  Wizards  and  necromancers  put  away,  II.  Kings  xxiii. 
24;  cf.  the  detailed  prohibitions  in  Deut.  xviii.  10,  11 

(8)  We  read  in  II.  Kings  xxii.  11  that  when  Shaphan 


48     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

the  scribe  read  the  book  of  the  law  to  Josiah,  the  latter 
rent  his  clothes.  This  he  might  well  have  done  when 
he  heard  the  curses  read  in  Deut.  xxviii. 

(9)  Lastly,  the  celebration  of  the  passover  by  Josiah, 
as  it  had  never  been  celebrated  in  the  whole  regal 
period  of  Israel's  history  (11.  Kings  xxiii.  21-23),  is 
most  significant  when  we  compare  the  detailed  regula- 
tions in  Deut.  xvi.  1-7,  and  note  the  absence  of  in- 
structions respecting  this  festival  in  the  earlier  codes. 

In  addition  to  these  points  of  contact  between  the 
legislation  of  Deuteronomy  and  the  reformation  in 
Josiah's  reign,  it  should  be  observed  "  that  the  early 
prophets  Amos  (765-736  b.c),  Hosea  (745-725),  and 
the  undisputed  portions  of  Isaiah  (740-700)  show  no 
traces  of  this  [Deuteronomic]  influence ;  Jeremiah 
(626-585)  exhibits  marks  of  it  on  every  page"  (Driver). 
Of  this  we  have  a  notable  example  in  Jer.  xi.,^  which 
is  full  of  Deuteronomic  phrases. 

These  considerations    constitute   a  strong  argument 

^  Cornill,  however,  though  formerly  (in  S.B.O.T.)  recognising 
Jer.  xi.  1-14  as  genuine,  now  follows  Duhm  and  Marti  in  denying 
it  (see  his  commentary,  p.  144),  on  what  appears  to  the  present 
writer  insufficient  grounds.  That  the  author  of  vii.  21-28  and 
xxxi,  30-33  (the  new  covenant)  should  in  the  earlier  days  of  his 
ministry  (620  B.C.)  have  been  enthusiastic  for  the  reforms  of 
Josiah  is  a  priori  probable.  The  defeat  and  death  of  Josiah 
(608  B.C.)  wrought  a  great  change  in  the  religious  condition  of 
Judah,  and  with  him  the  reforming  impulse  in  cultus  died. 


THE    PENTATEUCH 


49 


for  fixing  the  date  of  the  Deuteronomic  legislation  as 
it  stands  before  us.  The  promulgation  evidently 
belongs  to  621  B.C.  But  a  careful  examination  of  the 
series  of  chapters  xii.-xxvi.  shows  that  it  is  not  homo- 
geneous. Varieties  of  expression  as  well  as  occasional 
signs  of  duplication  show  that  various  hands  were  at 
work  on  this  entire  section  as  it  stands,  and  that  the 
document  brought  to  light  in  622-1  was  a  briefer 
statement.^  One  indication  in  II.  Kings  xxii.  8,  10, 
which  clearly  points  in  this  direction,  and  compels  us 
to  assume  that  the  document  was  not  of  very  consider- 
able length,  is  that  it  was  read  over  twice  in  the  same 
day,  first  by  Shaphan  the  scribe  in  the  temple,  and 
next  it  was  read  over  by  him  in  the  presence  of  Josiah. 

The  discovery  of  this  "book  of  the  Covenant,"  as  it 
is  called  (II.  Kings  xxiii.  2,  probably  in  anticipatory  refer- 
ence to  verse  3),  after  it  had  been  lost  for  a  considerable 
time,  has  been  explained  by  the  not  improbable  assump- 
tion that  it  was  drawn  up  by  a  certain  private  priestly 
and  prophetic  circle  and  deposited  in  the  temple  in  the 
reign  of  Manasseh.  The  evils  which  the  legislation 
seeks  to  counteract  are    those  of   that   long   and   de- 

1  The  original  form  of  this  legislation  is  held  by  Cornill  ("Intro- 
duction to  the  Old  Testament  ")  to  be  chap.  xii.  i-xiii.  18  in  briefer 
form  ;  xiv.  3,  21-xv.  3,  7-23  ;  xvi.  i-xvii.  13;  xviii.  I-13;  xix.  i- 
XX.  I  ;  XX.  5-14,  19,  20;  xxi.-xxv.,  though  not  entire  ;  xxvi.  1-15. 
Probably  chap,  xxviii.  in  part  was  also  read  before  King  Josiah. 

D 


50     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

generate  reign.  There  is  also  considerable  probability 
in  the  view  that  it  may  have  been  based  upon  a  still 
earlier  and  briefer  legislation  drawn  up  in  the  reforming 
days  of  Hezekiah,  to  which  not  only  II.  Kings  xviii. 
4,  but  also  xviii.  22  and  xxi.  3  bear  witness. 

It  is  held  by  most  critics  that  the  legislation  con- 
tained in  Deut.  xii.-xxvi.  was  provided  with  an  intro- 
duction, and  this  probably  consisted  of  chaps,  v.-xi., 
and  that  chap,  xxviii.  also  belonged  to  this  earlier 
edition  of  Deuteronomy^  called  D^.  Subsequently, 
probably  soon  after  the  close  of  the  exile,  this  work 
was  expanded,  provided  with  a  fresh  introduction 
(chaps,  i.-iv.),  and  the  other  material  than  that  in  D^ 
already  described  was  added  (D-).  Most  important 
of  the  added  material  is : — 

I.  The  Song  of  Moses  (xxxii.),  in  its  present  form, 
cannot  be  regarded  as  other  than  a  comparatively  late 
product,  not  earlier  than  the  time  of  the  exile.  Verses 
15  ff.  reflect  the  spirit  of  rebuke  and  threatening  that 
characterise  Jeremiah.  In  fact,  the  poem  is  full  of 
phrases  that  are  reminiscent  of  Jeremiah.  Verses 
23-26  obviously  presuppose  the  exile,  while  verse  39 
reminds  us  of  the  Deutero-Isaiah  (xliii.  10,  11,  13,  25, 

^  So  Bennett  in  his  "  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,"  which 
combines  the  qualities  of  conciseness  with  clearness.  For  the 
critical  theories  of  Steuernagel,  Staerk,  and  Erbt  the  reader  is 
referred  to  Cornill's  "  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,"  §  9. 


THE    PENTATEUCH  51 

li.  12,  also  xli.  4,  xlviii.  12).  We  also  find  a  large 
number  of  Deuteronomic  expressions. 

2.  The  Blessing  of  Moses  (xxxiii.)  is  of  a  far  different 
character,  and  reminds  us  in  many  points  of  Gen.  xlix., 
but  is  probably  of  later  origin.  Simeon  has  vanished 
from  the  scene  of  history,  and  Reuben  is  nearing  ex- 
tinction. Levi  is  definitely  a  priest  tribe  (not  neces- 
sarily a  sign  of  lateness ;  cf.  Judges  xvii.  7  ff.).  There 
is  but  slight  reference  to  Judah,  and  that  reference, 
combined  with  the  lengthened  blessing  on  Joseph, 
clearly  points  to  a  North  Israelite  origin  and  the  E 
document.  It  can  hardly  be  later  than  the  earlier 
half  of  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  and  may  even  be  con- 
siderably earlier. 

The  Book  of  Deuteronomy  and  the  tradition  out  of 
which  it  arose  had  a  far-reaching  influence.  Deutero- 
nomic phraseology  can  be  traced  in  a  school  of 
writers  who  edited  the  Old  Testament  records.  It 
meets  us  in  the  Pentateuch  and  in  the  historical 
books,  and  we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  refer 
to  these  redactional  Deuteronomic  additions. 

The  Pentateuch^  as  Ryle  has  shown,  must  have  ex- 
isted as  a  canonised  body  of  literature,  and  have  had 
a  sacred,  regulative  value  in  religious  worship  and 
social  administration,  by  the  close  of  the  fifth  century 
B.C.  (after  Ezra's  Reformation),  i.e.  before  400  b.c.^ 

*  Ryle,  "Canon  of  the  Old  Testament,"  p.  93. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   HISTORICAL  BOOKS 

§  9.  The  historical  books,  or  First  Prophets  of  the 
Hebrew  Canon,  consist  of  Joshua,  Judges,  I.  Samuel, 
II.  Samuel,  I.  Kings  and  II.  Kings.  These  books, 
followed  by  what  are  called  the  "latter  Prophets,"  begin- 
ning with  Isaiah  and  ending  with  Malachi  (but  not 
including  Daniel),  constitute  the  second  series  of 
canonised  books  of  the  Jewish  synagogue  which  went 
by  the  general  inclusive  name  "  The  Prophets."  By 
the  beginning  of  the  second  century^  B.C.  they  held 
a  place  in  popular  veneration  only  second  to  the 
Pentateuch,  or  what  the  Jews  have  always  called  "  The 
Law"  {Torah^  literally  "  instruction  ").  Like  the  Penta- 
teuch, these  "  Prophets  "  (including  the  above  historical 
books)  possessed  a  sacred  value  and  were  read  in  the 
worship  of  the  sanctuary  {cf.  Luke  iv.  16-20).  In 
fact,  the  "  Law  and  the  Prophets  "  constituted  the  main 
part  of  the  sacred  scriptures  which  formed  the  authorita- 

1  Ryle,  "Canon  of  the  Old  Testament,"  pp.  109-113. 

52 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         53 

tive  basis  of  religious  life  and  doctrine,  though  other 
books,  such  as  the  Psalms  and  the  Book  of  Daniel, 
were  also  used  in  worship  and  highly  esteemed.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  expression  "  Law  and  Prophets  " 
frequently  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  as  synony- 
mous with  Holy  Scripture  (Luke  xxiv.   27,  44,  &c.). 

It  is  convenient  as  well  as  instructive  for  us  to 
follow  the  order  of  these  successive  canonised  writings 
of  the  Old  Testament  as  they  stand  in  the  Hebrew 
Bible  or  sacred  scriptures  of  the  Jews.  Of  course 
canonisation^  or  official  recognition  of  the  sacred  validity 
of  a  book  and  authorisation  of  its  use  in  worship,  is 
quite  independent  of  the  composition  of  the  book 
itself,  which  may  be  centuries  earlier  in  date. 

§  10.  The  Book  of  Joshua  is  a  continuation  of  the 
story  of  the  Pentateuch  after  the  death  of  Moses,  re- 
corded in  the  last  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  but  it 
appears  to  have  been  separated  from  the  Pentateuch, 
perhaps  before  the  reforms  of  Ezra  (450-40  B.C.).  It 
records  the  conquest  of  Canaan  by  Israel  under  the 
leadership  of  Joshua,  whose  name  is  naturally  bestowed 
on  the  book.  Then  follows  the  division  of  the  land 
among  the  tribes.  The  book  concludes  with  the  dis- 
courses of  Joshua  to  Israel  in  a  manner  analogous 
to  the  conclusion  of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  and 
similarly  closes  with  the  death  of  Israel's  leader. 


54     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

The  book  falls  naturally  into  three  parts  : — 

I.  Chaps,  i-xii.  record  the  advance  of  Israel  and 
the  conquest  of  Canaan. 
II.  Chaps,    xiii.-xxi.,   division   of  the   land   among 
the  several  tribes. 
III.  Chaps,    xxii.-xxiv.   contain  Joshua's  address  to 
the    Reubenites,    Gadites,    and   half  tribe   of 
Manasseh,   the   controversy  with  these  trans- 
Jordanic  tribes  respecting  their  erection  of  a 
"great  altar,"  and  its  settlement  (xxii.).     Final 
addresses  of  Joshua  to  the  assembled  tribes, 
his  death  and  burial  (xxiii.,  xxiv.). 
The  same  documents,  P^,  J,  and  E,  are  interwoven 
in  this  book  as  in  the  Pentateuch,  but  in  addition  to 
these  the   Deuteronomic  additions  are  much  more  ex- 
tensive and  conspicuous. 

I.  In  the  first  twelve  chapters  there  is  very  little 
of  P.  J  and  E  in  alternation  furnish  the 
staple  of  the  narrative,  with  occasional  and 
brief  Deuteronomic  additions  (D). 
II.  It  is  quite  otherwise  with  chaps,  xiii.-xxi.  Here 
P  is  by  far  the  most  predominant  element. 
J  is  occasionally  present,  E  very  slightly,  while 
Deuteronomic  additions  (D)  may  be  found  as 
before,  e.g.  xiii.  1-14  and  xiv.  6-15. 
III.  In  the  concluding  chaps,  xxii.-xxiv.  P  is  hardly 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         55 

present  at  all,  whereas  the  element  D  is  found 
in  xxii.  1-6  and  in  xxiii.   1-16,  while  nearly  all 
if  not  the  whole  of  chap,  xxiv.,  which  contains 
Joshua's  farewell  address  to  the  assembled  tribes 
at  Shechem,  is  assigned  by  all  critics  to  E. 
There    is    little   poetry    in    this   book.     In  x.    12   ff. 
there  is  a  couplet   (two  distichs),  associated  with  the 
battle  of  Bethhoron,  quoted  in  a  brief  Yahwistic  ex- 
tract (J)  from  the  book  of  Jashar.     See  above,  §  2. 

§  II.  The  Book  of  Judges  carries  on  the  history  of 
Israel  from  the  settlement  of  Canaan  under  Joshua 
until  the  birth  of  Samuel,  which  is  narrated  in  the  book 
that  follows.  It  therefore  covers  the  intermediate 
period  between  Joshua  and  the  Hebrew  monarchy,  and 
takes  its  name  from  the  so-called  "  Judges "  ^  who 
exercised  the  functions  of  ruling  (which  included  judicial 
functions)  and  defending  and  delivering  the  Israelite 
tribes  during  war,  and  were  the  forerunners  of  the 
Israelite  kings. 

The  work,  as  might  be  expected,  is  composite.  Its 
true  character  has  been  clearly  exhibited  by  critical 
investigations  mainly  conducted  by  Budde  and  Kittel 
about   twenty   years   ago.       The   results    we   can    here 

^  In  Hebrew  Shofetiin,  the  same  word  being  used  for  the  rulers 
of  Carthage,  a  Phoenician  colony,  called  in  Livy  siiffetes.  Cf. 
Moore's  "Judges"  (LCC),  pp.  xi.,  8S,  89. 


56     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

only  present  in  brief  summary.  The  work  may  be 
divided  into : — 

(i.)  An  introduction  (chap.  i.  i-ii.  5)  descriptive  of 
the  condition  of  Canaan  when  the  period  of  the  Judges 
opens.  This  section  is  exceedingly  important  for  the 
historical  student,  since  it  is  "an  old  account  of  the 
conquest  of  Canaan,"  not  by  all  Israel  simultaneously 
under  Joshua's  leadership,  "but  by  individual  tribes 
separately"  (Driver),  The  opening  verse  of  the  book 
is  evidently  editorial,  and  obscures  the  character  and 
chronological  relation  of  the  entire  section  which  follows, 
which,  as  Dr.  Driver  states,  "  is  in  iQ2i\iX.y  parallel^  at  least 
in  part,  with  the  narrative  in  Joshua,  and  not  a  con- 
tinuation of  it."  ^ 

(ii.)  A  prelude  to  the  history  (chap.  ii.  6-iii.  6).  In 
this  prelude  ii.  11- 19  is  thoroughly  Deuteronomic  in 
phraseology^  and  tone.  Moore,  however,  finds  in  it 
older  material  coming  from  the  source  E.  It  is  essen- 
tially a  moralising  summary  of  the  following  history. 

(iii.)  "The  real  kernel  of  the  history,"  as  Cornill 
designates  it  (in  his  Introduction,  §  16,  3),  is  found  in 
iii.  7-xvi.  31.  This  section  contains  the  history  of 
the  Judges  from  Othniel  to  Samson.  Some  of  these 
figures,  as  Othniel,  Tola,  Jair,  Ibzan,  Elon,  and '  Abhdon, 

1  L.  O.  T.,  p.  162. 

-  See  above,  §  8  ad  fin.,  p,  51. 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         57 

are  mere  shadows,  and  seem  to  be  based  on  very 
obscure  traditions.  Throughout  the  chief  portions  of 
this  narrative  may  be  traced  either  the  documents  J 
and  E  or  documents  closely  similar.  J  is  certainly 
the  older,  and  is  assigned  by  Moore  to  the  ninth 
century  b.c.  E  is  later,  and  consists  of  an  earlier 
stratum,  perhaps  not  much  later  than  J,  and  a  later 
stratum  exhibiting  a  more  advanced  religious  sense, 
strongly  characterised  by  prophetic  ideas  in  the  judg- 
ments passed  upon  the  religious  offences  of  the  people. 
This  later  Elohistic  writer  probably  belonged  to  the 
seventh  century.  Lastly  we  have  the  Deuteronomic 
editor,  whose  insertions  are  easily  recognised,  and  are, 
to  use  Budde's  phrase,  planted  throughout  this  section 
"like  milestones,"  e.g.  chap.  iii.  7-15,  iv.  1-3,  vi. 
I,  6^,  viii.  28,  33-35,  X.  6-8,  12-16.  The  reflec- 
tions upon  the  events  of  the  narrative  which  these 
passages  contain  might  be  called  a  kind  of  religious 
philosophy  of  history. 

Owing  to  the  composite  character  of  the  work,  dupli- 
cations in  the  narrative  sometimes  appear.  Of  this 
duplication  the  most  conspicuous  example  is  afforded 
in  chaps,  iv.  and  v.  (the  Song  of  Deborah).  The  latter 
is  a  valuable  poetic  remnant  which  has  come  down  to 
us  (unfortunately  in  a  corrupted  text  in  some  passages) 
from   ancient   Israel.     The  prose  narrative  which  pre- 


58     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

cedes  it  stands  contrasted  with  the  poem  in  several 
particulars,  (i)  In  the  poem  Sisera  is  evidently  the  head 
of  the  Canaanite  confederacy,  whereas  in  chap.  iv.  Jabin, 
King  of  Hazor,  is  the  head  and  Sisera  is  his  general. 
(2)  In  the  poem  all  the  tribes  surrounding  the  plain 
of  Megiddo,  Ephraim,  Manasseh,  Benjamin,  Issachar, 
Zebulun,  and  Naphtali  unite  in  the  struggle.  Judah  is, 
of  course,  not  mentioned.  The  more  remote  tribes, 
Dan,  Asher,  and  even  Reuben  and  Gilead  beyond 
Jordan,  are  bitterly  reproached  for  standing  aloof.  In 
chap.  iv.  Barak  collects  a  force  from  Zebulun  and 
Naphtali  only.  (3)  In  the  poem  Sisera  is  standing  at 
the  opening  of  his  tent  drinking  milk  from  a  bowl  when 
Jael  strikes  him  the  deadly  blow.  In  chap.  iv.  Jaei 
drives  a  tent-pin  through  his  temples  when  asleep. 

Now  when  we  carefully  compare  Judges  iv.  with 
Joshua  xi.  1-15,  the  parallel  must  immediately  strike  us. 
For  (i)  in  both  we  have  a  war  between  a  confederation 
of  Israelite  tribes  against  a  coalition  of  Canaanite  tribes. 
(2)  In  both  the  scene  of  the  conflict  is  N.  Palestine; 
according  to  the  Joshua  narrative,  the  battle  is  fought 
by  the  waters  of  Merom.  (3)  In  both  special  mention 
is  made  of  Jabin,  King  of  Hazor  (Joshua  xi.  i  and 
Judges  iv.  2,  17).  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  name  of 
this  king  is  absent  from  the  ancient  song  of  Deborah, 
which    mentions    Sisera    only.     Accordingly    it   is   not 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         59 

improbable  that  Cornill  and  Guthe  are  right  in  the 
surmise  that  Judges  iv.  blends  two  narratives  in  one. 
The  one  consists  of  the  struggle  of  Jabin,  King  of 
Razor,  in  Upper  Galilee,  led  by  Barak  of  Kadesh  in 
Naphtali,  at  the  head  of  the  tribes  Zebulun  and 
Naphtah.  This  struggle  is  held  to  be  identical  with 
that  which  is  recorded  in  Joshua  xi.  1-15,  which  belongs 
to  a  later  time  than  that  of  Joshua.  The  other  narrative 
runs  parallel  to  Judges  v.  and  recounts  the  story  of  a 
larger  coalition  of  Israelite  tribes,  including  the  Rachel 
stem,  viz.  Machir  (Manasseh),  Ephraim,  and  Benjamin. 
The  head  of  this  larger  coalition  is  Barak,  son  of 
Abino'am,  and  the  leader  of  the  opposing  host  is  a 
warrior  with  a  Hittite  name,  Sisera.  The  scene  of 
the  conflict,  moreover,  is  further  south,  viz.  Taanach  in 
the  valley  of  Megiddo. 

Another  example  of  duplication  of  narrative  is  to  be 
found  in  viii.  4-21,  in  which  the  names  Zebah  and 
Zalmunnah  take  the  place  of  Zeeb  and  Oreb  in  the 
previous  narrative,  viz.  vi.  2 -viii.  3,  w^hich  is  quite  inde- 
pendent and  made  up  of  elements  from  the  two 
sources  J  and  E.  The  previous  shorter  narrative  is 
obviously  a  fragment. 

(iv.)  Lastly,  we  have  an  "appendix"  (chaps,  xvii.-xxi.) 
containing  the  story  of  Micah  with  his  Ephod  and 
Teraphim  and  the  advent  of  the  Levite.  the  migration  of 


6o     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

part  of  the  tribe  of  Dan  northwards,  the  outrage  of  Gibea, 
and  the  war  of  Israel  against  Benjamin.  These  narra- 
tives, like  those  in  the  preceding  part  of  the  book,  are 
made  up  of  elements  derived  from  J  and  E. 

The  book  appears  to  have  passed  through  at  least 
two  editions  as  a  compilation  out  of  earlier  memoirs. 
The  first  was  the  Deuteronomic  redaction,  which  may 
have  taken  place  either  during  the  exile  or  the  early 
post-exilian  period.  This  is  held  by  Cornill  to  have 
been  ii.  6-19,  iii.  7-30,  iv.  i-viii.  29,  33-35,  x.  6-16, 
xi.  i-xii.  7,  and  xiii.-xv.  The  "  appendix"  was  evidently 
not  included,  though  it  contains  old  material  from  J  E, 
for  in  chaps,  xvii.-xxi.  there  is  no  trace  of  Deuteronomic 
editing.  The  second  was  the  Priestly  redaction,  which 
added  to  the  work  these  other  elements  from  a  redacted 
J  E  and  probably  other  sources. 

In  the  Book  of  Judges  we  are  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  complicated  problems  of  Biblical  chronology. 
From  the  data  of  the  Book  of  Judges  as  it  stands  we 
are  led  to  conclude  that  a  far  longer  period  intervened 
between  the  Exodus  and  the  building  of  the  temple  in 
the  fourth  year  of  Solomon's  reign  than  the  480  years 
given   in  I.   Kings  vi.    1.^     Even  the  latter  estimate  is 

^  The  numerical  details  will  be  found  most  clearly  set  forth  in 
Bennett's  '* Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament"  (Methuen  &  Co.), 
pp.  83-85.      Cf.  Cornill's  Introduction,  §  16,  7. 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         6i 

considerably  greater  than  most  recent  chronologies  based 
on  Egyptology  would  allow.  These  would  scarcely 
admit  of  a  greater  interval  than  barely  three  centuries. 
In  all  probability  the  "  minor  "  Judges,  Tola,  Jair,  Ibzan, 
&c.  (Judges  xii.  8-15),  should  be  cancelled  out  of  the 
chronological  scheme.  Moreover,  it  is  wholly  un- 
necessary to  suppose  that  the  other  "  greater  judges " 
ruled  successively  over  all  Israel.  The  historical  con- 
ditions point  in  the  opposite  direction.  Their  rule  was 
partial,  only  involving  the  hegemony  of  a  few  neigh- 
bouring tribes.  Therefore  there  is  nothing  to  forbid  the 
assumption  that  some  {e.g.  Samson  and  Jephthah,  Barak 
and  Ehud)  ruled  contemporaneously.  In  this  manner 
we  arrive  at  a  very  considerable  reduction  of  the 
interval  that  separates  the  Exodus  from  the  reign  of 
Solomon. 

§  12.  The  Books  of  Samuel  continue  the  record  of 
Israel's  history  from  the  days  of  Eli  and  Samuel  to  the 
reign  of  David,  when  the  unification  of  Israel  was  con- 
summated by  David's  statecraft  and  the  military  skill  of 
his  general,  Joab. 

The  two  Books  of  Samuel  appear  originally  to  have 
formed  in  the  Hebrew  canon  a  single  book  called  the 
"Book  of  Samuel,"  since  this  term  is  employed  in 
the  Massoretic  note,  which  is  placed  at  the  end  of 
the  second  Book  of  Samuel,  specifying  the  number  of 


62     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

verses  which  it  contains.  There  is  no  such  note  at  the 
end  of  the  first  book.  This  is  confirmed  by  a  citation 
from  Origen  in  Eusebius  (vi.  25)  which  speaks  of  one 
Book  of  Samuel  "called  of  God."  Probably  the  name 
originated,  as  the  Jewish  writer  Abarbanel  suggested, 
from  the  fact  that  Samuel  is  regarded  as  the  central 
personality.  Saul  and  David,  whose  history  fills  most  of 
the  text,  were  both  designated  as  king  by  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  we  turn  to  the  LXX  we 
find  the  two  books  of  Samuel  designated,  along  with  the 
following  two  books  of  Kings,  as  the  first  and  second 
of  the  four  books  of  Kings. 

The  classification  of  the  contents  of  the  two  books 
adopted  by  Budde,  and  improved  by  Driver,  appears  to 
be  the  most  natural,  viz.  : — 

I.     I.  Sam.  i.-vii.     Eli  and  Samuel. 
11.     I.  Sam.  viii.-xiv.     Samuel  and  Saul. 

III.  I.  Sam.  xv.-xxxi.     Saul  and  David. 

IV.  II.  Sam.  i.-xx.     David. 

V.  11.  Sam.  xxi.-xxiv.     An  addendum  consisting  of 
varied  contents,  poems  and  narratives. 

Thenius,  one  of  the  soundest  of  the  German  critical 
scholars  of  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  per- 
ceived that  the  narratives  contained  in  these  books 
were  composite  in  character.  The  grounds  were  as 
follows  : — 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         63 

(a)  Some  events  are  narrated  in  two,  and  moreover 
divergent,  forms.  Take  for  example  the  two  narratives 
respecting  the  choice  of  Saul  as  king  in  I.  Sam.  ix.  i- 
X.  16  and  in  x.  17-27,  and  the  grounds  and  mode  of  his 
rejection,  I.  Sam.  xiii.  8-14  compared  with  xv.  1-30. 

(d)  In  several  places  we  can  clearly  discover  what 
appears  to  be  a  conclusion  to  some  special  section,  e.g. 
I.  Sam.  xiv.  47-51,  a  resume  respecting  Saul's  wars  and 
his  family.  In  II.  Sam.  viii.  15-18  we  have  a  list  of 
David's  officers  ;  in  xx.  23-26  we  have  a  second  list 
of  like  character. 

(c)  Differences  in  style.  Thus  in  II.  Sam.  viii.  we 
have  a  bare  chronicle,  while  in  I.  Sam.  i.-iii.  we  have 
a  style  more  epic  in  manner.  Or  we  might  compare 
I.  Sam.  vii.,  the  style  of  which  resembles  the  Deutero- 
nomic,  with  I.  Sam.  xiii.,  which  possesses  no  such 
character. 

Other  writers  who  followed  Thenius,  viz.  Wellhausen, 
Stade,  Kittel,  and  Cornill,  have  set  forth  this  composite 
nature  of  the  books  more  completely.  But  the  chief 
credit  here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Book  of  Judges, 
belongs  to  Budde,  who  in  1888  showed  that  the 
same  kind  of  documentary  strata  are  traceable  in 
these  books  as  in  the  Book  of  Judges.  We  shall 
now  set  forth  his  main  results. 

In   the  ^rsf  place,  we  have  the  older  document  J 


64     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

which  makes  Gilgal  the  place  of  Saul's  appointment 
as  king.  In  fact,  it  is  in  the  description  of  the  events 
which  lead  up  to  Saul's  election  as  king  in  chaps,  viii.- 
xii.  that  the  contrasts  between  the  two  sources  appear 
in  sharpest  relief.  According  to  J,  the  Benjamite 
Kish  sends  his  son  Saul  with  a  slave  to  find  some 
lost  she-asses.  After  wandering  in  a  vain  search,  Saul 
is  induced  by  his  slave  to  seek  counsel  from  a  "man 
of  God  "  in  a  neighbouring  town,  a  seer  who  is  Samuel 
himself.  To  Samuel  Yahweh  had  already  announced 
that  a  Benjamite  would  come  to  him  on  the  morrow, 
and  that  he  was  to  be  anointed  by  the  seer  as  prince 
over  his  people.  Samuel  accordingly  welcomes  Saul 
and  receives  him  as  an  honoured  guest,  together  with 
his  slave  attendant,  at  the  sacred  meal  in  the  high  place. 
On  the  following  day  he  anoints  Saul  and  gives  him 
the  sign  of  his  Divine  call  (chaps,  ix.  i-x.  i6). 
About  a  month  ^  after  this  Nahash  the  Ammonite 
besieges  Jabesh  Gilead,  and  emissaries  from  Jabesh 
cross  the  Jordan  in  order  to  seek  help  from  the 
disgraceful  terms  of  surrender  imposed.  They  arrive 
in  Gibea,  and  Saul  coming  in  with  his  team  of  oxen 
beholds  a  scene  of  lamentation  and  woe.  Overpowered 
by  a  Divine  spirit  of  anger,  he  stirs  up  Israel  to  the 

1  We  follow  here  the  reading  indicated  by  the  LXX  (chap.   x. 
27/^  linked  to  the  following  chapter). 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS        65 

deliverance  of  the  beleaguered  and  the  subjugation 
of  the  Ammonites.  The  people  amid  festive  sacrifices 
raise  Saul  to  the  kingship  (chap.  xi.). 

In  the  second  place,  we  have  another  later  document 
E.  Here  Samuel  appears  as  quite  a  different  figure. 
He  is  no  longer  a  seer-priest  in  a  provincial  town, 
but  Israel's  judge  ruling  the  people  in  Yahweh's  name. 
He  is  moreover  an  old  man.  The  people  are  dis- 
contented with  the  conduct  of  his  sons,  and  desire 
to  have  a  king  like  the  neighbouring  nations.  Samuel 
disapproves  of  this  desire,  and  Yahweh  regards  it  as 
an  act  of  apostasy,  but  commands  Samuel  to  comply 
with  the  people's  wish  after  having  first  warned  them 
what  a  king's  prescriptive  rights  were.  The  people 
nevertheless  persist  in  their  desire  (chap.  viii.).  They 
are  dismissed  to  their  towns,  and  are  subsequently 
summoned  to  Mizpah  (chap.  x.  17),  and  there  Saul 
is  chosen  by  lot  as  king.  In  a  solemn  discourse  to 
the  people  Samuel  lays  down  his  of^ce  as  judge,  and 
warns  them  of  their  heavy  responsibility.  He  promises 
the  people  God's  favour  if,  nevertheless,  they  remain 
faithful  to  Him  (chap.  xii.).  In  this  document  E  Saul 
is  no  longer  the  young  son  of  a  Benjamite  chief,  but 
an  independent  warrior  and  father  of  a  warlike  son  of 
considerable  prowess. 

We   may  now  present  a  summary  of  the  results  of 

E 


66     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

a  careful  analysis.  The  document  E  narrates  the 
history  of  Samuel,  priest,  prophet,  and  last  judge,  from 
his  birth  and  early  childhood  in  chaps,  i.-tii.  In  these 
early  chapters  there  is  inserted  in  chap.  ii.  i-io  the 
Song  of  IIa?i?ia,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  Song  of 
Thanksgiving  for  victory,  yet  is  in  reality,  as  Budde 
(who  follows  Smend  and  Cheyne^)  describes  it,  an 
"extra-canonical  Psalm"  which  celebrates  the  final 
victory  of  Yahweh  and  His  people  over  the  godless 
and  the  heathen.  The  reference  to  the  barren  woman 
bearing  children  is  the  link  which  has  served  to  con- 
nect it  with  Hanna.  That  the  poem  is  a  post-exilian 
production  and  to  be  classed  as  a  Psalm,  like  the 
"writing"  of  Hezekiah  (Isa.  xxxviii.  lo  ff.)  and  the 
"Prayer"  of  Habakkuk  (Hab.  iii.),  is  clearly  shown 
by  the  large  number  of  literary  parallels  between  this 
song  and  Psalm-literature  (note  especially  verses  i  and 
5).     Verse  8  is  nearly  identical  with  Ps.  cxiii.  7  ff. 

Chaps,  iv.-vi.  evidently  come  from  the  same  source, 
viz.  E,  since  the  points  of  contact  between  chap.  iv. 
and  i.-iii.  are  apparent  in  the  former.  Here,  it  is  true, 
Samuel  is  not  mentioned,  yet  the  points  of  contact  with 
E  in  chaps,  i.-iii.  are  quite  manifest  in  chap.  iv.  Thus 
in  ii.  12-17,  22,  25  the  evil  deeds  of  Hophni  and 
Phinehas  are  recounted  and  the  rebuke  administered 
*  "Origin  of  the  Psalter,"  p.  57. 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS        67 

by  their  father  Eli,  while  the  calamity  announced  in 
verse  34  comes  to  pass  in  chap.  iv.  Respecting 
chap.  vii.  there  has  been  some  difference  of  opinion. 
Some  critics,  including  Kittel  and  Max  Lohr,  are  disposed 
to  see  clear  traces  in  this  chapter,  as  well  as  in  chap,  xii., 
of  Deuteronomic  influence.  On  the  other  hand,  Cornill 
contends  that  Jer.  xv.  i  is  an  allusion  to  I.  Sam.  vii. 
and  xii.,  and  that  therefore  these  chapters  must  have 
been  composed  before  his  time.^  He  would  agree, 
therefore,  with  Budde  in  assigning  chap.  vii.  to  E. 
Chap,  vm'.i  as  we  have  already  noted,  belongs  to  the 
same  source. — Chap,  ix.  i-x.  16  is,  as  already  explained, 
a  narrative  coming  from  J,  while  x.  17-27  belongs 
to  E.  On  the  other  hand,  xi.  i-ii  ^  is  J. — Chap.  xii. 
should  be  connected  with  chap.  vii.  (E). — Chap.  xiii. 
2-'ja  is  once  more  J,  but  verse  i  (omitted  in  LXX) 
is  a  chronological  addition  framed  on  the  Deuteronomic 
model.  Verses  'jb-i^a  Cornill  would  assign  to  a  later 
writer  of  the  same  school  as  J  (Introd.,  §  17,  5). — 
Chap.  xiv.  1-46  and  52  belongs  to  J.     It  is  otherwise 

^  The  references  in  Jeremiah  to  the  E  sections  in  I.  Samuel 
should  be  noted.  Wellhausen  has  already  noted  the  parallel  in 
language  between  Jer.  xix.  3  and  I.  Sam.  iii.  ii.  Jer.  vii.  12-15  is 
evidently  based  on  I.  Sam.  iv. 

^  X.  25,  27  and  X.  12-14  are  assigned  by  Budde  to  the  redactor 
of  J  E. 


68     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

with  47-51,  which  may  be  regarded  as  Deuteronomic. 
Verse  48  reminds  us  clearly  of  Judges  ii.  16. — Chap.  xv. 
belongs  to  E.  Chap.  xvi.  1-13  in  its  present  form 
is  certainly  later,  though  Budde  considers  that  it  was 
probably  based  on  a  narrative  by  E.  On  the  other 
hand,  verses  14-23  are  a  continuation  of  the  narrative 
of  J  at  the  point  where  it  left  off  at  xiv.  52,  and  of 
the  unfortunate  episode  of  the  preceding  verses  24-45. 

We  now  come  to  a  section,  chap.  xvii.  \-xviii.  5, 
which  bristles  with  problems.  This  section  belongs 
to  E.  The  verses  34-37  may  be  compared  with 
Gen.  xxxi.  36-42,  which  is  also  an  E  passage.  We 
have  here  a  second  and  quite  distinct  account  of 
David's  introduction  to  Saul,  which  bears  no  rela- 
tion to  the  first  (xvi.  14-23),  which  belongs  to  J.  The 
account  of  David's  victory  over  Goliath  is  recorded 
in  two  distinct  versions.  The /rj/,  xvii.  i-ii  and  32, 
is  common  to  the  LXX  (cod.  B)  and  our  Hebrew  Mas- 
soretic  text,  as  well  as  33-36  (with  additions  in  LXX), 
37-39  (with  variants),  42-47  (with  additions  i),  48  (first 
part  only),  49,  51  (with  omission  of  clause  "and  drew  it 
out  of  the  sheath  thereof"),  52-54.  All  the  verses  which 
are  not  enumerated  in  this  list,  as  well  as  xviii.  1-5,  are 

1  In  the  LXX,  David,  in  answer  to  Goliath's  angry  query  in 
verse  43,  "Am  I  a  dog  that  thou  comest  to  me  \}'\\h.  staves?" 
makes  the  spirited  reply,  "  Nay,  yet  worse  than  a  dog  !  " 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         69 

omitted  in  the  Vatican  text  (B)  of  the  LXX.  The 
second  version  is  the  more  extended  one  of  our  Hebrew 
(Massoretic)  text.  In  the  Alexandrian  text  (cod.  A) 
the  omitted  verses  are  incorporated.  This  addition 
of  the  missing  verses  in  the  LXX,  cod.  A,  was  evidently 
made  at  a  later  time,  for  these  added  verses  adhere 
much  more  closely  to  the  later  or  Massoretic  text  of 
our  Hebrew  Bibles.  Thus  the  Vatican  MS.  of  the 
LXX  and  our  Hebrew  text  present  two  distinct 
recensions.  Budde  considers  that  the  LXX  {i.e. 
cod.  B)  text  has  arisen  through  a  harmonising  ten- 
dency which  sought  to  remove  those  elements  which 
are  at  variance  with  xvi.  14  ff.,  a  view  which  is 
supported  by  Kittel. 

In  chap,  xviii.^  verses  1-4  and  12-19  belong  to 
E,  while  to  J  must  be  assigned  verses  5-1 1,  20-30. 
Here  again  due  note  should  be  taken  of  the  omissions 
in  LXX,  cod.  B,  viz.  verses  lo-ii,  12b,  17-19,  21b 
(which  Budde  regards  as  redactional),  26b,  29^,  and  30. 
Moreover,  it  may  be  noted  that  a  smoother  and  more 
consistent  narrative  is  obtained  by  these  omissions. 
Probably  Kuenen  and  Wellhausen  are  right  in  supposing 
that  here,  as  in  chap,  xvii.,  the  LXX,  or  the  compilers 
of  the  Hebrew  original  which  they  translated,  endea- 
voured by  omissions  to  simplify  and  harmonise  the 
narrative. — In  chap,  xix.,    verses   i-io   belong    to  E, 


70     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

and  Kittel  as  well  as  Budde  would  derive  verses  11-17 
from  the  same  source.^  This  is,  however,  doubted  by 
Cornill  (Introd.,  §  17,  7).  On  the  other  hand,  all  three 
critics  are  agreed  that  xix.  i8-xx.  la  is  a,  later  edition  of 
the  same  character  as  xvi.  1-13. — C/iap.  xx.  is  difficult 
to  analyse.  Max  Lohr  considers  that  it  is  made  up 
of  a  series  of  smaller  sections  which  do  not  fit  in  well 
together,  while  Budde  ascribes  it  to  the  document  J, 
but  that  it  has  been,  especially  in  the  speeches,  con- 
siderably worked  over.  Both  Budde  and  Cornill,  as 
well  as  other  critics,  consider  that  verses  40  ff.  at  the 
close  of  the  chapter  are  hardly  consistent  with  the 
preconcerted  signals  arranged  between  Jonathan  and 
David,  which  were  expressly  designed  to  obviate  the 
need  for  an  interview  with  its  attendant  risks.  On 
these  grounds  it  is  held  that  these  verses  are  an  in- 
dependent addition  based  on  chap.  xix.  1-7,  and  also 
on  the  tradition  of  the  close  friendship  of  David  and 
Jonathan.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  surely  quite 
possible  that  we  have  here  the  report  of  an  actual 
incident  detached,  it  may  be,  from  its  original  con- 
nection.— Ckap.  XXI.  1-9  (i-io  Heb.)  belong  to  E, 
and   probably   constitute   one   of  the   earlier   portions 

^  The  reference  to  the  Teraphim  may  be  compared  with  like 
reference  in  Gen.  xxxi.  32-35,  Judges  xvii.  ff.,  which  are  E 
sections. 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         71 

of  that  document.  Verses  10-15  (11-16  Heb.),  the 
narrative  describing  David's  stay  with  Achish,  King  of 
Gath,  are  later  according  to  some  critics,  and  hardly 
consistent  with  preceding  facts,  since  David  is  called 
(verse  11,  12  Heb.)  "king  of  the  land."  This  ex- 
pression, however,  is  put  in  the  mouth  of  Achish,  and 
can  scarcely  be  pressed.  It  is  quite  possible  that  these 
verses  are  not  placed  in  actual  chronological  sequence 
with  verses  1-9.  The  connection  between  verse  11 
and  xviii.  7  would  indicate  that  no  long  interval  sepa- 
rates this  episode  from  that  recorded  in  xviii.  6-9. 
Chap.  xxii.  1-4  belong  to  J.  Verse  5  is  rejected 
by  Budde,  and  now  by  Cornill  (Introd.,  6th  ed.),  but 
the  grounds  are  by  no  means  cogent,  though  the  intro- 
duction of  the  prophet  Gad  (elsewhere  "  the  Seer "), 
who  belongs  to  later  history  (II.  Sam.  xxix.  11),  may 
appear  strange.  Verses  6-23  probably  belong  to  the 
other  source  E,  and  appear  to  be  in  sequence  with 
chap.  xxi.    i-g. 

Chapters  xxiii.-xxiv.  and  xxvi.  Of  these  xxiii.  1-13 
belong  to  both  J  and  E  combined,  whereas  xxiii.  14- 
xxiv.  22  are  of  uncertain  origin.  Cornill  (Introd.,  §  i7j 
8)  assigns  xxiii.  19-xxiv.  22  to  E.  It  is  quite  evident 
that  chap.  xxvi.  stands  separate.  From  xxiii.  19- 
xxiv.  22  we  have  a  continuous  narrative,  interrupted 
only  by  the  interlude,  xxiii.  27-28,  describing  how  a 


72     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

sudden  Philistine  raid  draws  away  Saul  from  the  pursuit 
of  David.  To  xxiii.  19-xxiv.  22  we  have  an  evident 
duplicate  in  chap.  xxvi.  Max  Lohr  follows  Wellhausen 
and  Driver  in  rejecting  Budde's  view,  which  makes 
chap.  xxvi.  a  later  production  (viz.  E)  than  the  former. 
All  these  critics  as  well  as  Cornill  {jbid^  consider  that 
chap.  xxvi.  shows  more  signs  of  belonging  to  an  older 
and  more  original  document  {i.e.  J).  The  evidence 
from  language  is  by  no  means  conclusive.  Budde  has 
noted  several  words  which  seem  to  point  decisively  to 
the  E,  since  they  are  employed  in  E  passages  in 
Genesis,  Joshua,  and  Judges. 

Chaps,  xxv.-xxxi.  (with  the  omission  of  chap.  xxvi. 
already  discussed)  might  be  regarded  as  a  continued 
narrative  belonging  to  J  if  it  were  not  for  the  episode 
described  in  chap,  xxviii.  3-25,  which  disturbs  the 
chronological  sequence  and  would  appear  more  naturally 
immediately  before  chap.  xxxi.  than  in  its  present  posi- 
tion. Verses  17  ff.  seem  to  point  back  decisively  to 
chap.  XV.  Consequently  many  critics  (Stade,  Kuenen, 
Kittel,  and  others)  have  ascribed  it  to  the  same  source 
as  chap,  xv.,  i.e.  E.  On  the  other  hand,  note  that 
Samuel  is  here  once  more  the  seer  of  chaps,  ix.,  x.  1-16 
(not  the  Judge),  whom  Saul  consults  in  his  desperate 
need  because  God  gives  no  answer  (verse  6).  The 
truth  seems  to  be  (as  Budde  shows)  that  Deuteronomic 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         73 

influence  had  entered  into  the  narrative  which  comes 
from  J  {cf.  verses  9  ff.  with  Deut.  xviii.  11),  and  this 
passage  has,  through  this  redactional  influence,  been 
displaced. 

In  the  Second  Book  of  Samuel,  we  must  on  critical 
grounds  separate  chaps,  i.-viii.  from  the  rest  of  the 
book. 

I.  In  chaps,  i.-viii.  the  documents  J  and  E  can 
still  be  traced,  but  apparently  not  further.  Chaps,  i.-v. 
at  all  events  in  the  main  belong  to  J.  The  only 
exceptions  are  chap.  i.  5-1 1  and  13-16,  which  belong 
to  E.  This  explains  the  divergent  tradition  of  Saul's 
death  which  meets  us  in  I.  Sam.  xxxi.  1-7,  which  comes 
from  J,  in  which  the  wounded  Saul  inflicts  death  upon 
himself  on  the  refusal  of  his  armour-bearer  to  perform 
the  deed,  and  the  narrative  in  11.  Sam.  i.  5-1 1,  in 
which  we  have  the  confession  of  the  Amalekite,  which 
David  implicitly  beUeves,  that  he  had  committed  the 
deed.     This,  as  we  have  seen,  belongs  to  E. 

In  chap.  i.  19-27  we  have  the  Elegy  on  Saul  and 
Jonathan^  composed  by  David,  inserted  into  the  narra- 
tive from  the  "Book  of  Jashar"^  (see  above  under  §  2). 
Reasonable  criticism  will  coincide  with  the  dictum  of 
Cornill  that  we  have  absolutely  no  warrant  for  doubting 

1  The  LXX  calls  it  "Book  of  Song"  {shir),  the  characters 
which  make  up  Jashar  in  the  original  being  transposed. 


74     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

the  authenticity  of  the  Song.  It  is  a  genuine  product 
of  David's  poetic  genius.  And  the  same  remark  applies 
to  the  Elegy  on  Abner  in  chap.  iii.  33,  34. 

Chap.  iii.  2-5  and  v.  4-16  have  probably  been  in- 
serted here  out  of  the  original  connection  in  which 
they  stood.  On  the  other  hand,  chap.  vii.  has  quite 
a  distinctive  character  which  separates  it  from  that 
which  precedes  and  follows.  If  it  belongs  to  E  it 
should  be  assigned  to  the  later  stratum  of  that  docu- 
ment belonging  to  a  period  in  the  seventh  century 
that  precedes  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy.  It  bears  a 
definitely  Messianic  impress,  and  evidently  comes  after 
the  powerful  impulse  to  Messianic  prophecy  communi- 
cated by  the  teaching  of  Isaiah  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighth  century.  Chap.  viii.  is  probably  derived 
from  J.  With  verses  16-18  we  may  connect  such 
sections  as  chaps,  iii.  2-5,  v.  13-16,  and  xx.  23-26 
(see  below). 

Chaps,  ix.-xx.  form  a  continuous  whole,  and  with 
this  section  Wellhausen  would  connect  chap.  vi.  It  is 
difficult  and  precarious  to  find  traces  of  E  in  this 
section ;  indeed,  that  document  in  its  earlier  form  can 
hardly  be  traced  anywhere  after  the  death  of  Saul. 
These  chapters,  as  Cornill  shows  (Introd.,  §  17,  9), 
exhibit  many  parallels  in  expression  with  other  previous 
J   passages    in    these    books.      The    following   points, 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         75 

moreover,  may  be  specially  noted:  (i)  Chap.  xi.  22  has 
in  LXX  an  important  addition;  (2)  chap.  xii.  10-12  has 
been  regarded  by  recent  critics  as  a  later  addition  to 
Nathan's  speech,  made  by  a  writer  who  regarded  all 
the  evils  in  David's  subsequent  history  as  the  harvest 
springing  from  David's  sin  against  Uriah  the  Hittite. 

(3)  The  relation  of  chap.  x.  i-xi.  i  has  to  be  considered. 
According  to  x.  6  the  Ammonites  hire  the  Aramaeans 
of  Beth-Rehob,  of  Soba,  the  King  of  Maakah,  and  the 
people  of  Tobh,  all  apparently  SW.  Aramaeans  living 
near  to  the  Ammonites.  On  the  other  hand,  chap, 
viii.  makes  no  mention  of  the  Ammonites  except  in 
the  bare  enumeration  in  verse  12,  unless  we  are  to 
suppose  (with  Budde)  that  Moab  stands  by  mistake 
for  Ammon  in  verse  2.  Verses  7-12  may  be  regarded 
as  an  insertion,  probably  based  on  J  material.  Now 
in  chap.  viii.  and  chap.  x.  (together  with  xii.  26-31) 
we  have  probably  records  of  one  and  the  same  cam- 
paign against  the  Ammonites  and  their  Aramcean  allies. 

(4)  Chaps,  xiii.-xx.,  which  may  be  called  the  Absalom 
narrative,  are  relatively  well  preserved  and  free  from 
redactional  insertions. 

We  now  come  to  chaps,  xxi.-xxiv.  These  are  to 
be  regarded  as  addenda  to  the  Books  of  Samuel,  with 
poetic  insertions  subsequently  included.  Among  the 
narrative  portions  xxi.   1-14  is  evidently  derived  from 


76     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

J,  and  its  contents  connect  it  with  chap,  xxiv.,  while  the 
following  section,  xxi.  15-22,  is  connected  in  the  same 
way  with  xxiii.  8-39.  The  two  poetic  passages,  chap.  xxii. 
and  xxiii.  1-7,  can  only  be  briefly  dealt  with  here. 

Chap.  xxii.  is  Ps.  xviii.  in  a  somewhat  different 
version,  less  reliable  in  text.  The  fact  that  this  Psalm 
should  have  been  selected  for  insertion  in  this  appendix 
out  of  the  entire  body  of  so-called  Davidic  Psalms 
points  to  a  tradition  which  specially  connected  this 
song  with  David.  That  the  entire  Psalm  emanated 
from  him  is  very  improbable.  It  is,  however,  possible 
that  verses  1-20  are  based  upon  an  original  Davidic 
song.  Verse  15  is  echoed  in  Ps.  cxliv.  6.  But  the 
later  portions  of  the  Psalm,  as  verse  31  {cf.  Prov.  xxx. 
5),  have  a  reflective  character  belonging  to  later 
Hebrew  literature. 

It  is  otherwise  with  the  Last  Words  of  David  (xxiii. 
1-7).  The  opening  phrases  seem  to  be  borrowed 
from  the  oracles  of  Balaam,  Num.  xxiv.  3  ff.,  15  ff". 
The  characterisation  of  David  as  "  sweet  in  Israel's 
lays,"  and  the  proverbial  style  of  verses  4  ff.,  point 
to  a  later  period  than  that  of  David,  though  it  is  im- 
possible on  the-  slight  basis  of  this  short  poem  to 
determine  even  approximately  what  that  period  is. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Book  of  Judges,  so  it  is 
evident  that  the  Books  of  Samuel  passed   through  a 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         77 

Dmteronomic  redaction.  This,  as  Budde  has  shown, 
affected  the  order  of  the  component  elements.  But 
it  is  hardly  safe  to  attempt  a  reconstruction  of  the 
order  and  form  of  the  successive  editions  as  they 
appeared.  That  there  was  more  than  one  edition  (or 
"  redaction  ^')  of  the  work  is  shown  by  the  two  lists 
of  David's  state  officials  in  chap.  viii.  16-18  and  in 
chap.  XX.  23-26,  which  are  close  counterparts,  the  latter 
apparently  the  more  correct  in  form.  A  comparison 
with  the  LXX  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  the  parallel 
in  I.  Chron.  xviii.  15-17  on  the  other,  shows  that 
textual  corruption  has  entered  into  the  names  in 
chap.  viii.  16-18.  It  is  to  a  final  post-exilian  redaction 
of  the  work  that  the  insertion  of  the  Psalm  and  "  last 
words"  of  David  are  due  (II.  Sam.  xxii.,  xxiii.  1-7). 

§  13.  The  Books  of  Kings  are  called  the  "third 
and  fourth  books  of  Kings "  in  the  LXX  (see  the 
beginning  of  §  12),  and  we  know  from  the  testimony  of 
Jerome  that  as  far  back  as  the  fourth  century  a.d.  they 
constituted  a  single  book  in  the  Hebrew  scriptures. 

The  influence  of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy  upon 
the  contents  and  structure  of  the  work  is  more  clearly 
visible  here  than  in  the  Books  of  Samuel.  The 
period  of  the  exile  and  the  century  which  immedi- 
ately followed  must  have  been  one  of  considerable 
literary  activity.     To  this  interval  the  redaction  of  the 


78     BOOKS    OF   OLD    TESTAMENT 

Book  of  Deuteronomy  in  nearly  its  present  form,  and 
of  the  historical  books  from  Judges  to  Kings,  is  to 
be  ascribed.  The  overthrow  of  the  Jewish  kingdom 
in  the  seventh  century  had  awakened  the  reflective  and 
religious  spirit  of  the  faithful  followers  of  Yahweh 
who  had  been  deported  into  exile,  and  who  had  been 
taught  by  the  prophets  to  regard  the  humiliations  and 
disasters  to  the  Jewish  state  at  the  hands  of  foreign 
powers  as  God's  chastisements  for  the  sins  of  idolatry 
and  social  oppression.  These  lessons  of  past  history 
are  enforced  in  these  historical  books  in  appropriate 
sections,  usually  very  brief .^  One  of  the  longest  and 
most  characteristic  passages  of  this  kind  is  to  be 
found  in  II.  Kings  xvii.  7-19.  Also  the  characters 
of  the  successive  monarchs  of  Israel  and  of  Judah 
are  estimated  from  the  religious  and  legal  standpoint 
of  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  which  enforced  the 
legitimacy  of  the  single  sanctuary  at  Jerusalem  only, 
and  forbad  the  worship  of  the  high  places  with  their 
stone  pillars  and  Asherim  (mistranslated  "groves"). 

The  contents  of  the  two  books  fall  into  the  follow- 
ing divisions : — 

(i.)  I.  Kings  i.-ii.     The   last  days   of   David.     The 
intrigues  and  conflicts  respecting  the  succession 
and  Solomon's  ascent  of  the  throne. 
*  Cf.  above,  §  11,  p.  57. 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         79 

(ii.)  I.  Kings  iii.-xi.     The  reign  of  Solomon. 
(iii.)  I.  Kings  xii.   1-24.     The  revolt  of  the  northern 
tribes    and    the    constitution    of    the    Israelite 
kingdom, 
(iv.)  I.    Kings    xii.    25 -II.     Kings    xvii.    41.      The 
parallel  history  of  the  Northern  and    Southern 
Kingdoms   until    the    capture    of    Samaria    by 
Sargon  II.  of  Assyria.     The  end  of  the  Kingdom 
of   Israel   (722-1    e.g.).     Concluding    moral   re- 
flections   on    the    same,    and    the     subsequent 
history  of  the  imported  settlers, 
(v.)   II.  Kings  xviii.-xxv.     History  of   the    Kingdom 
of  Judah  from  the  capture  of  Samaria  to   the 
capture   and    destruction   of    Jerusalem    (587-6 
B.C.)  and  the  exile  in  Babylonia  (to  561   B.C.). 
(i.)  I.    Kings  i.,   ii.  is  evidently  a   continuation  and 
conclusion  of  the  history  of  David's  reign  in  II.  Sam. 
ix.-xx.,  probably  by  the  same  narrator. 

(ii.)  I.  Kings  iii.-xi.  is  a  compilation  made  from 
various  sources  which  the  Deuteronomic  editor  has 
excerpted  and  adapted  for  his  own  special  purposes. 
Among  these  sources  was  a  special  work  called  the 
Book  of  the  Acts  of  Solomon^  to  which  express  refer- 
ence is  made  in  I.  Kings  xi.  41.  This  work  seems 
to  have  consisted  of  a  series  of  narratives  descriptive 
of  the   glory  of  Solomon.     Another   source  consisted 


8o     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

in  the  annals  of  Solomon's  reign,  containing  lists  of 
his  officers  as  well  as  statistical  details  such  as  may 
be  found  in  iv.  1-19,  v.  27,  28.  In  addition  to  this, 
it  is  agreed  among  most  recent  critics  that  there  was 
an  old  Te77iple-record  preserved  by  the  Jerusalem  priest- 
hood, which  contained  a  full  description  of  the  erec- 
tion, architectural  construction,  as  well  as  furniture 
of  the  Temple,  such  as  could  hardly  have  found  a 
place  in  the  Annals.  To  this  documentary  source 
I.  Kings  vi.  and  vii.  are  to  be  ascribed,  and  perhaps  also 
I.  Kings  xiv.  25-28,  xv.  16-22,  as  well  as  II.  Kings  xiv. 
8-15  and  xviii.  14-16  (Cornill).  The  i?isertio?is  of 
the  Detiteronomic  editor  are  as  clearly  discernible  in 
this  portion  of  the  Book  of  Kings  as  they  are  in 
the  following  sections,  viz.  in  iii.  2,  3,  v.  4,  9-13,  the 
long  inaugural  temple-prayer  of  Solomon  viii.  14-61, 
and  also  ix.  1-9.  We  have  also  a  characteristic 
example  of  Deuteronomic  editing  in  the  closing  refer- 
ence to  Solomon's  reign  in  xi.  41-43,  to  which  close 
parallels  will  be  found  in  the  following  chapters  of 
the  Books  of  Kings. 

To  this  section  also  belongs  what  may  be  reasonably 
held  to  be  the  mutilated  fragment  of  a  poem  composed 
by  Solomon  himself,  placed  in  our  Hebrew  version 
in  verses  12,  13,  but  in  the  LXX  after  verse  53,  which 
is   certainly   a   quite   appropriate   place   for   it.      With 


THE    HISTORICAL   BOOKS        8i 

the  aid   of  the  LXX  we  can  restore  this  ancient  and 
interesting  fragment  thus  : — 

"  The  Sun  hath  Yahweh  set  in  the  heaven, 
Hath  determined  to  dwell  in  the  thick  darkness  ; 
I  have  surely  built  a  dwelling-house  for  thee. 
An  abiding  place  for  thee  to  inhabit  for  ever." 

According  to  the  LXX,  this  fragment  is  inserted  from 
a  work  called  the  "  Book  of  Songs."  As  no  other 
mention  is  made  of  such  a  work,  Wellhausen  has 
ingeniously  suggested  that  here  we  have  a  corruption 
of  the  original,  which  ought  to  be  rendered  "  Book  of 
Jashar."  ^     See  above,  §  2. 

We  also  find  occasional  traces  of  a  later  post-exilian 
redaction  due  to  the  influence  of  the  traditions  of 
the   document    P.     Thus    in    I.    Kings   viii.    1-4,    the 

^  Shtr^  "  song,"  arising  by  a  transposition  of  consonants  out  of 
fashar.  Kittel,  however,  is  disposed  to  regard  "Book  of  Songs" 
as  the  original  as  well  as  appropriate  reading  here.  The  question 
indeed  arises  whether  the  corruption  may  not  have  arisen  in  the 
reverse  direction  to  that  which  Wellhausen  suggests,  viz.  that  Jashar 
{^yashar)  itself  is  a  corruption  of  the  original  shir.  The  passages 
cited  from  the  so-called  "Book  of  Jashar"  are  all  poetic,  and  the 
name  Jashar  (or  "  upright")  connotes  ethical  rather  than  martial  or 
heroic  qualities.  It  may,  however,  have  been  a  designation  of 
Israel,  as  the  name  Jeshurun  seems  to  suggest  (see  note  on  Isa.  xliv. 
2  in  "Century  Bible").  This  appears  to  be  the  strongest  argu- 
ment for  the  retention  of  the  word  Jashar  as  the  original,  though 
somewhat  enigmatic,  form. 


82     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

omission  of  certain  clauses  in  the  LXX  indicates  that 
they  were  late  additions  to  the  text.  We  have  similar 
omitted  clauses  in  chap.  v.  4-6,  which  are  evidently  later 
insertions,  since  they  are  not  (note  especially  verses  5 
and  6)  to  be  found  in  the  Vatican  MS.  of  the  LXX.* 

(iii.  and  iv.)  L  Kings  xii.  i  -  xvii.  41.  As  we 
enter  the  period  of  the  Divided  Kingdom  with  the 
reign  of  Rehoboam,  it  becomes  at  once  evident  that 
we  are  dealing  with  a  continuous  history,  and  worked 
out  in  a  uniform  framework  clearly  marked  out  by 
definite  formulae,  and  a  system  of  cross-references  in 
chronology  whereby  the  synchronism  of  the  reigns 
of  the  Judsean  and  Israelite  kings  may  be  made 
clear.  These  cross-references  were  probably  later 
than  the  definite  statements  as  to  the  length  of 
each  monarch's  reign,  since  the  length  of  each  mon- 
arch's reign  would  naturally  be  stated  in  the  annals 
preserved  in  the  state  archives,  while  the  cross- 
references  would  be  the  work  of  an  editor  of  a 
complete  parallel  chronicle  of  the  regal  period  of 
both  kingdoms.  Moreover,  as  Kittel^  points  out, 
these  cross-references  in  chronology  are  sometimes 
at   variance  with    the  statements   as  to   the  length   of 

^   Comp.  with  I.  Kings  v.  6,  II.  Chron.  i.  14. 
^  Introduction  to  his  Commentary  on  the  Books  of  Kings  (in 
German),  p.  xi„ 


THE    HISTORICAL   BOOKS         83 

the  king's  reign  or  other  historical  details.  These 
inconsistences  cannot  be  easily  obviated  by  the  as- 
sumption of  textual  errors.  They  are  best  explained 
by  the  hypothesis  that  the  synchronisms  or  cross- 
references  were  the  work  of  a  later  editor,  the  earlier 
editor  being  the  Deuteronomic  redactor. 

The  stereotyped  formulae  of  this  framework  of  regal 
history  consist  in  stating,  in  the  case  of  the  Judcean 
kings,  the  age  of  the  monarch  on  his  accession,  the 
length  of  his  reign,  the  name  of  his  mother,  also  his 
death  and  burial.  In  the  case  of  the  Israelite  kings  we 
have  the  length  of  reign  and  the  death  mentioned.  To 
these  details  are  added  the  synchronistic  cross-references 
in  the  case  of  both  Israelite  and  Judsean  kings  to  which 
allusion  has  already  been  made.  We  have  likewise  the 
characteristic  Deuteronomic  estimate  of  the  character 
and  policy  of  each  successive  monarch.  Even  Zimri, 
who  only  reigned  for  a  week,  is  not  passed  over  (I.  Kings 
xvi.  15-20). 

Just  as  we  have  a  "  book  of  the  acts  (or  history) 
of  Solomon,"  from  which  the  Deuteronomic  editor 
borrowed  in  his  record  of  Solomon's  reign  (I.  Kings  iii. 
11),  so  in  the  following  history  of  the  divided  kingdoms 
of  Israel  and  Judah  we  have  the  Book  of  the  Chro?iicles 
of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and  the  Book  of  the  Chronicles  of 
the  Kings  of  Judahy  to  which  refeience  is   repeatedly 


84     BOOKS    OF   OLD    TESTAMENT 

made  at  the  close  of  the  narrative  of  a  king's  reign. 
It  would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  these  works  were 
simply  the  royal  state  annals  of  the  kingdoms  of  Israel 
and  Judah  respectively.  But  ever  since  the  time  of 
Kuenen,  O.T.  scholars  have  held  that  these  are  histori- 
cal works  based  upon  such  original  documents,  rather 
than  the  documents  themselves.  For  the  Northern 
Kingdom  it  hardly  seems  probable  that  such  state  annals 
could  have  existed  in  the  form  in  which  they  are  here 
presented.  Thus  the  conspiracy  "wrought"  by  Zimri 
(I.  Kings  xvi.  20)  or  by  Shallum  (II.  Kings  xv.  15)  are 
expressions  which  belong  rather  to  an  independent 
history  based  on  official  documents  than  to  those  official 
documents  themselves.  It  is  extremely  doubtful  how 
far  access  to  the  official  annals  of  the  Northern  King- 
dom would  be  possible  after  the  dynastic  troubles  and 
wars  ending  with  the  siege  and  capture  of  Samaria  in 
722  B.C.  This  would  apply  to  the  official  records  of 
Pekah's  reign  {cf.  II.  Kings  xv.  31).  This  monarch,  who 
waged  war  with  Jotham  and  Ahaz,  was  ultimately  slain 
by  the  Assyrians,  as  Tiglath  Pileser's  inscriptions  inform 
us.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  the  "  Book  of  the 
Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Israel "  was  an  Ephraimite 
work,  which  had  passed  over  into  Judaea  and  had  been 
employed  either  in  its  original  form  or,  as  is  probable, 
in  a  Judaan  recension  by  the   Deuteronomic  editor. 


THE   HISTORICAL    BOOKS        85 

When  this  Judaean  recension  was  made  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  The  "  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  "  was 
a  parallel  historical  work  based  on  state  records  of 
the  Southern  Kingdom,  which  must  have  been  com- 
posed during  or  after  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim,  since 
the  last  reference  to  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  ordinary 
formula,  "  Now  the  rest  of  the  acts,"  &c.,  which  comes 
at  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim  (II.  Kings 
xxiv.  5). 

In  addition  to  these  histories  of  the  two  kingdoms, 
we  have  inserted  into  the  middle  of  the  work  bio- 
graphical narratives  respecting  the  two  prophets  of 
the  Northern  Kingdom,  Elijah  and  Elisha.  The  narra- 
tive of  the  prophet  Elijah  can  be  readily  detached 
from  the  surrounding  matter,  viz.  I.  Kings  xvii.-xix., 
xxi.,  II.  Kings  i.  2-17  (most  of  which  is  regarded  by 
some  critics  as  late).  The  narrative  of  the  prophet 
Elisha  consists  of  more  detached  episodes,  II.  Kings  ii.- 
viii.  15  and  xiii.  14-21,  which  by  no  means  suggest 
unity  of  origin  like  the  Elijah  narratives.  Undoubtedly 
both  originated  in  the  Northern  Kingdom. 

There  was  also  another  Ephraimite  narrative  which 
was  utilised  by  the  Deuteronomic  redactor,  viz.  The 
graphic  story  of  AhaFs  wars  contained  in  I.  Kings  xx. 
and  xxii.  1-38,  which  are  evidently  distinct  from 
the   Elijah   narrative   in  chaps,  xix.   and   xxi.      Kittel 


86     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

in  his  commentary^  has  pointed  out  special  features 
of  language  in  the  original  of  this  Ephraimite  narrative 
of  Ahab's  reign.  To  this  same  document  belongs  the 
equally  vivid  story  of  Jehu's  usurpation  and  his  over- 
throw of  the  Omri  dynasty  and  its  Phcenician  Baal 
worship,  II.  Kings  ix.  i-x.  27.  Most  recent  critics, 
however,  follow  Stade  in  regarding  x.  12-16  as  an 
insertion  from  another  source,  since  verses  12  ff.  do 
not  fit  in  naturally  with  verses  1 7  ff.  The  spirit  of  this 
interesting  Ephraimite  document  is  evidently  strongly 
national  and  in  sympathy  with  the  prophetic  move- 
ment against  the  Phoenician  cult  favoured  by  the 
Omri  dynasty  and  upheld  by  Jezebel. 

We  pass  now  from  these  older  sources  to  some  of 
the  later  insertions  which  have  been  incorporated  in 
the  Books  of  Kings.  One  of  the  most  striking  examples 
of  these  later  insertions  is  to  be  found  in  the  late 
narrative,  I.  Kings  xii.  33-xiii.  33.  In  this  the  mention 
of  the  name  of  Josiah,  King  of  Judah  (in  xiii.  2),  is 
an  indication  that  we  have  here  a  late  production 
composed  after  621  b.c.  under  the  influence  of  the 
Deuteronomic  standards  of  cultus  and  legality.  The 
story  is  introduced  into  the  texture  of  the  work  by  the 
preface  of  a  Deuteronomic  redactor  who  wrote  xii.  30- 
32.  In  fact,  it  is  quite  evident  to  the  careful  reader 
1  In  German,  p.  163. 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         87 

that  the  Deuteronomic  editor  fastened  upon  the  reign 
of  "  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat  who  made  Israel  to 
sin  "  as  one  of  the  turning-points  of  reHgious  as  well  as 
political  history  w^hich  needed  the  pen  of  the  redactor 
to  throw  it  into  powerful  and  instructive  relief.  This 
is  clearly  visible  in  the  following  narrative,  I.  Kings  xiv. 
1-24.  But  the  Judaean  editor  bestows  his  blame  im- 
partially. It  falls  on  Rehoboam  (verses  22  ff.)  as  well 
as  on  Jeroboam  I. 

(v.)  11.  Kings  xviii.  i-xxv.  30.  We  now  pass  to  the 
record  of  Judah's  history  after  the  capture  of  Samaria. 
Here  the  narrative  is  obviously  based  on  the  Judaean 
Chronicle  ("  Chronicles  of  the  Kings  of  Judah  "),  which, 
as  we  have  already  explained,  made  use  of  the  official 
state  records.  The  narrative  flows  on  in  much  the 
same  fashion,  with  the  characteristic  touches  and  in- 
sertions of  the  Deuteronomic  redactor.  We  notice 
these  traits  more  especially  when  we  come  to  the 
reactionary  reigns  of  Manasseh,  Amon,  and  Jehoiakim. 
Just  as  we  had  in  the  earlier  portions  of  the  history 
of  the  regal  period  inserted  portions  derived  from 
Ephraimite  narratives  of  the  prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha, 
so  we  have  here  inserted  portions  derived  from  an 
earlier  and  a  later  biography  of  Isaiah^  probably  com- 
posed by  writers  belonging  to  the  prophetic  circle. 
The  earlier  section  is  found  in  II.  Kings  xviii.  13,  17- 


88     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

xix.  8,  and  the  later  in  xix.  9-37.  Owing  to  the  use 
that  is  made  of  both  narratives,  the  single  embassy  of 
Rabshakeh,  who  is  despatched  by  Sennacherib  from  the 
Assyrian  camp  at  Lachish  and  confers  with  the  Jewish 
elders,  is  made  to  appear  as  though  there  were  two, 
in  both  of  which  Rabshakeh  speaks  in  much  the  same 
strain.  In  these  chapters  which  describe  the  events 
of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  11.  Kings  xx.  has  been  mis- 
placed, since  Merodach  Baladan's  embassy  takes  chro- 
nological precedence  of  the  invasion  by  Sennacherib 
described  in  xviii.  13  ff. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  text  of  I.  and  II.  Kings 
shows  that  it  has  been  edited  not  once  only  by  the 
Deuteronomic  editor,  but  has  passed  through  a  three- 
fold redaction.  The  first  Deuteronomic  redaction  was 
that  which  embraced  the  entire  historical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  from  Gen.  ii.  4^  onwards,  including 
only  the  pre-exilian  narratives  within  its  scope  (J  and 
E),  and  ended  with  II.  Kings  xxiv.  7.  This  redaction  was 
probably  effected  shortly  before  the  close  of  the  Judsean 
kingdom,  i.e.  about  600  B.C. 

Clear  traces  of  a  later  Deuteronomic  redaction  may 
be  found  in  which  definite  reference  is  made  to  the 
exile.  Thus  in  II.  Kings  xvii.  19,  20,  34(^-41,  Judah 
is  specifically  included  in  the  judgments  which  are  to 
befall  disobedience.     Nor  is  the  sin  only  the  defection 


THE    HISTORICAL    BOOKS         89 

from  the  central  and  true  worship  associated  with  the 
name  of  Jeroboam  son  of  Nebat,  but  Canaanite  idolatry 
as  well.  Similarly  in  II.  Kings  xxi.  7-15,  the  ''line  of 
Samaria  and  the  plummet  of  the  house  of  Ahab"  is 
denounced  against  Judah  for  the  Asherah  worship  of 
King  Manasseh.  After  II.  Kings  xxiv.  7,  the  later 
Deuteronomic  redaction  probably  supplies  the  concluding 
historical  and  other  matter,  which  is  brought  down  to 
561  B.C.  in  the  reign  of  Evil  Merodach,  when  Jehoiachin 
was  released.  No  allusion  is  made  to  the  return  from 
exile;  accordingly  some  time  between  560-555  B.C. 
may  be  assigned  to  this  second  Deuteronomic  redaction. 

We  have  also  clear  indications  of  a  last  and  final  post- 
exilian  redaction  under  the  influence  of  P,  e.g.  I.  Kings 
vi.  16,  where  the  reference  to  "the  most  holy  place" 
is  inserted.  Moreover,  in  the  ritual  details  of  I.  Kings 
viii.  i-ii  the  influence  of  P  is  obvious  in  every  line. 

Only  a  brief  allusion  can  here  be  made  to  the 
variations  in  text  which  are  indicated  by  the  LXX 
version.  A  remarkable  example  of  this  is  to  be  found 
in  the  LXX  Vatican  and  Lucian  text  of  I.  Kings 
xii.  24,  in  the  Greek  text,  as  compared  with  I.  Kings 
xii.  6-9  in  the  Hebrew  text  of  our  Bibles.  On  this 
we  would  refer  the  reader  to  Principal  Skinner's  full 
note  in  the  "  Century  Bible "  Commentary  on  Kings, 
Appendix,  Note  II.,  p.  443. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   PROPHETICAL   BOOKS 

§14.  The  Prophetical  Books,  or,  in  the  language  of  the 
Hebrew  canon,  "the  Latter  Prophets''  {cf.  §  9,  p.  52, 
above),  fall  into  two  parts,  viz.  the  Greater  Prophets 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel,  and  the  "  Lesser "  or 
"  Minor  Prophets."  According  to  one  of  the  treatises 
in  the  Talmud,  Isaiah  did  not  always  stand  first  in  the 
list  of  prophets,  since,  according  to  this  tradition,  it 
came  third  in  the  list  of  greater  prophets  and  Jeremiah 
came  first.  This  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  Book  of  Isaiah  is  really  a  collection  of  prophetic 
groups  of  oracles,  some  of  these  groups,  more  especi- 
ally chaps,  xxiv.-xxvii.,  being  very  late.  The  entire  col- 
lection was  therefore  in  all  probability  formed  at  a  later 
time  than  those  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel.  However  this 
may  be,  it  is  certain  that  at  the  time  of  Origen,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  third  century,  Isaiah,  as  constituting  the 
largest  and  most  important  collection  of  prophecies, 
was  placed   first   among  the   greater   prophets   of  the 

Hebrew  canon. 

90 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS      91 

§  15.  The  composite  character  of  the  large  collection 
entitled  the  "  Book  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah  "  has  long 
been  demonstrated  by  Old  Testament  scholars,  not 
only  from  a  careful  examination  of  the  language  and 
style  of  the  original,  but  also  from  the  contents.  The 
weight  of  the  accumulated  evidence  on  both  sides  is 
irresistible,  and  clearly  points  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  prophet  who  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighth 
century  B.C.  and  exercised  his  ministry  during  the  reigns 
of  the  Judaean  kings  from  Jotham  to  Hezekiah,  called 
Isaiah^  delivered  oracles  which  are  only  to  be  found 
in  scattered  groups  of  considerable  relative  size  within 
the  first  thirty-three  chapters,  and  not  beyond. 

The  entire  collection  of  oracles,  to  which  the  name 
of  this  earlier  prophet  was  given,  may  be  best  divided 
as  follows  into  the  following  larger  groups,  viz.  :  (i) 
Chaps,  i.-xxxix. ;  (2)  chaps,  xl.-lv.,  which  is  called  the 
Deutero-Isaiah ;  (3)  chaps.  Ivi.-lxvi.,  now  designated 
Trito-Isaiah.  With  each  of  these  three  larger  groups 
we  shall  now  deal  seriatim. 

(i)  Chaps,  i.-xxxix.  form  a  collection  made  up  of 
smaller  groups,  viz. :  (i.)  Chaps,  i.-xii.,  mainly  consisting 
of  genuine  Isaianic  matter ;  (ii.)  chaps,  xiii.-xxiii., 
consisting  almost  wholly  of  prophetic  "  burdens,"  or 
more  accurately  "  utterances, ^^  delivered  against  foreign 
nations,  many  of  which  were  composed  by  the  prophet 


92     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Isaiah ;  (iii.)  chaps,  xxiv.-xxvii.,  a  very  late  group  of 
prophecies  of  a  highly  apocalyptic  character,  difficult 
to  interpret ;  (iv.)  chaps,  xxviii.-xxxv.,  another  series 
of  oracles,  some  of  which  were  composed  by  Isaiah ; 
(v.)  chaps,  xxxvi.-xxxix.,  a  historical  appendix  consisting 
of  the  two  Isaiah  biographies  which  are  inserted  in  the 
Books  of  Kings  (see  ante^  §  13,  p.  87  ff.),  viz.  II.  Kings 
xviii.  13,  17-XX.  19.  Into  the  midst  of  this  narrative 
a  late  redactor  inserted  a  Psalm-prayer  of  Hezekiah, 
with  an  introductory  title  Isa.  xxxviii.  9-20,  similar 
to  those  which  are  found  in  the  Psalms. 

(i.)  Chaps,  i.  -xii.  formed  a  smaller  collection  consist- 
ing of  Isaianic  matter,  and  concluding  with  a  lyrical,  or 
rather  two  short  lyrical  songs.  This  collection  must 
have  been  made  in  post-exilian  times.  All  critics  are 
agreed  that  this  lyrical  chapter  xii.,  with  which  the  col- 
lection ends,  belongs  to  this  period;  also  the  title  in 
chap.  i.  I,  which  now  stands  at  the  head  of  the  entire 
collection  of  prophecies,  was  probably  intended  at  first 
for  this  smaller  collection,  to  which  it  obviously  and 
more  strictly  applies,  since  chaps,  xiii.-xxiii.  deal  rather 
with  foreign  peoples  than  with  "  Judah  and  Jerusalem  " 
(see  i.  i).  On  the  other  hand,  chaps,  i.-xi.  contain 
oracles  (with  one  clear  exception)  dealing  with  the  re- 
ligious and  social  conditions  of  the  Southern  Kingdom. 
Some  of  the  most  important  and  characteristic  oracles  of 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS      93 

the  prophet  belong  to  this  small  collection.  It  is  strange 
that  the  account  of  the  call  of  the  Prophet  to  the  work 
of  his  life  in  the  death-year  of  Uzziah,  740-39  b.c. 
(chap,  vi.),  does  not  stand  at  the  beginning  of  the 
collection,  just  as  the  call  of  Jeremiah  (Jer.  i.  i-io) 
and  that  of  Ezekiel  (Ezek.  i.,  ii.)  are  recorded  at  the 
beginning  of  the  collections  which  respectively  bear 
their  names.  As  we  examine  the  sequence  and  contents 
of  these  chapters  i.-xii.,  we  see  clear  traces  that  there 
was  at  one  time  a  small  separate  collection  of  Isaiah's 
oracles,  chaps,  vi.  i-viii.  18,  which  we  might  have  called 
the  "  Book  of  Immanuel."  Chap.  viii.  16  would  indicate 
that  in  an  hour  of  great  depression,  about  735-4  B.C., 
the  prophet  gave  instructions  that  his  disciples  should 
preserve  some  of  the  discourses  of  the  first  five  years 
of  his  ministry.  It  is  to  this  period  of  religious  and 
political  gloom  that  the  composition  of  chap,  vi.,  de- 
scriptive of  his  inaugurating  vision  and  call,  is  due. 
This  book  may  have  been  subsequently  enlarged  by 
the  addition  of  other  Isaianic  matter,  which  included 
the  oracles  breathing  greater  confidence  against  Assyrian 
tyranny,  x.  5-27,  and  the  Messianic  poems,  ix.  1-7  and 
xi.  1-9.  About  these  last  two  lyrical  passages  there 
has  been  considerable  controversy.  Several  recent 
critics  pronounce  them  to  be  non-Isaianic  and  post- 
exilian.      But   there   are   no   decisive    proofs   of  this* 


94    BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Their  language  and  conceptions  might  well  have 
belonged  to  the  close  of  Isaiah's  ministry  when  the 
withdrawal  of  Sennacherib's  forces  from  Palestine 
(701  B.C.)  appeared  to  be  a  vindication  of  the  prophet's 
encouraging  oracle,  x.  24-27.  In  chaps,  ix.  8-x.  4  we 
have  an  unfortunately  mutilated  fragment  of  a  long 
poem,  with  intercalary  refrain  directed  against  the 
Northern  Kingdom  and  announcing  its  impending 
doom.  It  was  probably  composed  about  726-5  B.C. 
Fortunately  the  concluding  fragments  of  this  poem 
are  to  be  found  in  another  small  collection,  viz.  ii.  2- 
V.  30.  These  concluding  fragments  consist  of  verses 
25-30  at  the  end  of  chap.  v.  The  recurrence  of  the 
refrain  of  ix.  8-x.  4  in  the  latter  part  of  chap.  v.  25  shows 
that  here  we  have  the  impressive  conclusion  of  the 
entire  poem.  Chap.  v.  begins  with  the  parabolic  song 
of  the  vineyard  (verses  1-7).  Then  follows  the  seven- 
fold denunciation  of  woes  against  the  social  sins  and 
vices  of  Judah.  This  chapter,  which  is  entirely  Isaianic, 
appears  to  have  been  attached  to  the  smaller  Isaianic 
collection,  chap.  ii.  2-iv.  6,  to  which  ii.  i  stands  as 
title.  In  this  small  collection,  chap.  ii.  2-4,  which  is 
almost  identical  with  Micah  iv.  1-4,  has  been  regarded 
by  many  critics  as  non-Isaianic  and  post-exilian,  though 
its  genuineness  is  maintained  by  others.  There  can  be 
Uttle   doubt  that  chap,   iv,   5-6  are  verses  that   were 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS      95 

composed  in  post-exilian  times.  Some  would  include 
verses  2-4,  which  precede  them.  Chap.  i.  forms  another 
brief  compend  of  Isaiah's  oracles,  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  collection,  chaps,  i.-xii.,  because  it  embodies  in 
impressive  form  the  prophet's  arraignment  of  Judah 
and  the  denunciation  of  the  judgments  that  are  to  befall 
the  people  for  disobedience.  The  great  German  exegete 
Ewald  appropriately  calls  it  "the  great  arraignment." 
Its  date  may  probably  be  735  B.C.  for  verses  2-17,  and 
perhaps  for  the  remaining  fragments  of  the  chapter. 

(ii.)  Chaps,  xiii.-xxiii.  are  a  series  of  "utterances" 
or  oracles  (A.V.  and  R. V.  "  burdens  ")  delivered  against 
foreign  peoples.  Chaps,  xiii.  i-xiv.  23  is  a  remarkable 
elegy  against  Babylon,  with  a  short  prosaic  section 
interpolated,  xiv.  1-4^.  One  of  the  most  impressive 
passages  in  this  long  poem  is  the  description  of  the 
advent  of  the  Babylonian  monarch  called  "Lucifer, 
son  of  Aurora  "  (the  nearest  equivalent  of  the  original), 
to  the  shades  below,  where  the  subjugated  kings  whom 
he  had  overthrown  greet  him  as  he  enters  Hades  (xiv. 
9-21).  From  numerous  indications  it  is  evident  that 
this  poem  cannot  have  been  composed  till  the  time 
of  the  Babylonian  exile  about  550  b.c. — There  follows 
afragtnent  of  an  orach  by  Isaiah  (xiv.  24-27)  delivered 
probably  in  705-4  B.C.  against  the  Assyrians. — Chap, 
xiv.  29-32  is  an  oracle  of  warning  against  over  confi.- 


96     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

dence,  addressed  to  the  Philistines.  The  superscription 
in  verse  28  prefixed  by  the  redactor  assigns  a  wrong 
date.  The  "serpent"  is  Sargon,  who  had  recently 
died,  and  the  "fiery  flying  serpent"  is  Sennacherib. 
The  date,  therefore,  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  pre- 
ceding fragment,  705-4  b.c. 

Chap.  XV.,  xvi.  is  another  long  oracle  announcing 
the  doom  of  Moab.  The  last  two  verses  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah  clearly  show  that  the  preceding  passage, 
XV.  i-xvi.  12,  was  an  older  oracle.  It  appears  to  have 
been  a  77idshdl^  i.e.  a  ballad,  composed  probably  in 
the  days  of  Jeroboam  II.,  when  Moab  was  overthrown 
by  Israel,  or,  perhaps,  earlier  still,  when  it  was  subju- 
gated by  Omri  (about  885  b.c.).^ 

Chap,  xvii.,   the  oracle  on  Damascus^  is  one  of  the 

earliest   of   Isaiah's  prophecies,  and  may  probably   be 

dated    736    b.c.     Chap,    xviii.    is    a    prophecy    of   the 

speedy   overthrow    of  the    Assyrian    power,    delivered 

in   response    to   an    anxious    embassy   from   Ethiopia. 

We  might  assign  to  it  the  approximate  date,  702  b.c. 

The  oracle  on  Egypt  in  chap.  xix.   is  in  reality  a  series 

of  prophetic  utterances  on  Egypt,  which  were  delivered 

at  various  times  and  crises    in  her  history.     Only  the 

short  passage,  verses  19-22,  can  be  regarded  as  Isaianic. 

1  The  "stone  of  Mesha"  (sometimes  called  "the  Moabite 
Stone  "),  lines  4-7,  testifies  to  this  subjugation  of  Moab  by  Omri. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS 


97 


— Chap.  XX.  is  a  warning  against  the  Egyptian  alliance 
addressed  to  the  rulers  in  Jerusalem,  and  expressed 
in  the  language  of  symbolic  action,  as  in  Jer.  xiii. 
1-7,  xix.  T-ii,  xxvii.  i-ii,  xxviii.  10-17,  ^^iii-  9>  lO) 
li.  60-64;  Ezek.  iv.,  v.;  Acts  xxi.  11.  The  reference 
to  the  attack  by  Sargon's  general  (Tartan)  on  Ashdod 
fixes  the  date  of  this  prophecy  as  711  b.c. — Chap.  xxi. 
i-io,  ^^  Burden  of  the  Wilderness  of  the  Sea,''  is  an 
oracle  on  the  doom  of  Babylon.  Various  internal 
indications  show  that  it  does  not  emanate  from  the 
age  of  Isaiah,  but  from  the  latter  part  of  the  exile. 
The  brief  and  enigmatic  "  oracle  of  Dumah "  (xxi. 
II,  12)  affords  no  definite  clue  as  to  date. — Also 
xxi.  13-17,  "the  utterance  in  the  Steppe"  {^^ burden 
upon  Arabia ")  may  belong  to  a  date  as  early  as 
the  time  of  Isaiah,  or  even  earlier.  Verses  16,  17 
are  the  prosaic  addition  of  a  later  writer  than  the 
author  of  the  oracle. — The  "  utterance  of  the  Valley  of 
Vision^'  (xxii.  1-14)  is  a  denunciation  by  Isaiah  of 
the  frivolity  of  Jerusalem.  The  historic  occasion  for 
the  untimely  rejoicing  may  have  been  the  embassy 
of  Merodach  Baladan,  704  B.C.,  or  the  arrival  of  the 
captured  Padi,  Assyria's  puppet-king  of  Ekron.^ — Chap, 
xxii.  15-25  describes  the  encounter  between  Isaiah  and 

^  Duhm's  ingenious  suggestion,  based  on  the  incident  to  which 
Sennacherib's  Prism-inscription  refers,  col.  ii.  69-72. 

G 


98     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Shebna,  the  king's  vizier,  who  belonged  to  the  Egyptian 
party  in  the  state,  whose  policy  Isaiah  strongly  opposed. 
— Chap,  xxiii.,  the  utterance  against  Tyre^  can  with  diffi- 
culty be  ascribed  to  Isaiah.  Verses  1-14  might  be 
connected  with  the  prolonged  siege  by  Esarhaddon 
and  the  final  reduction  of  Tyre  by  Asurbanipal,  668  B.C. 
Verses  15-18  belong  to  a  later  time. 

(iii.)  Chapters  xxiv.-xxvii,  belong  to  a  later  and 
quite  distinct  type  of  prophecy  from  that  of  the  pre- 
exilian  period.  This  type  is  called  apocalyptic^  of  which 
the  Book  of  Daniel  furnishes  a  vivid  example.  While 
the  earlier  prophecy  foretells  a  definite  future  which 
has  its  foundation  in  the  present,  apocalyptic  directs 
attention  to  a  new  world-period,  sharply  contrasted 
with  the  present  and  ushered  in  by  a  great  cosmic 
crisis  or  agony,  a  war  of  destruction  or  "  day  of 
Yahweh,"  which  is  universal  in  character,  waged 
against  hostile  nations,  after  which  God's  world-dominion 
begins.       Compare   xxiv.    i,  3-5,   14-16,    18-23,   xxvii. 

1,  13.  Another  distinguishing  feature  of  this  group 
of  prophecies  is  the  clear  enunciation  of  the  soul's 
resurrection  and  immortality    (xxvi.    19 ;    cf.    Dan.   xii. 

2,  3).  Pre-exilian  prophecy  presents  us  only  with 
a  dark  and  shadowy  existence  after  death  in  Sheol 
or  Hades,  i.e.  the  underworld.  The  date  of  this  com- 
plex  group    of  prophetic   passages   cannot    be   deter- 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS 


99 


mined  with  any  certainty.  Probably  they  belong  to 
the  Greek  period,  and  cannot  be  safely  placed  earlier 
than  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  circ,  330-325  b.c. 
(iv.)  Chaps,  xxviu.-xxxv.  This  group  contains  both 
Isaianic  and  post-Isaianic  matter.  Chap,  xxviii.  1-4 
is  a  denunciation  by  Isaiah  of  the  drunken  habits  of 
the  Ephraimites,  and  the  announcement  of  doom 
against  their  capital,  Samaria.  The  date  of  this  short 
prophecy  may  be  placed  in  725-4  b.c.  Verses  7-22 
is  another  denunciation  by  the  prophet,  in  7-13  of 
the  priests  and  prophets  who  yielded  to  the  vices  of 
gross  intoxication,  in  14-22  of  the  political  rulers. — 
Chap.  xxix.  contains  a  series  of  warnings  and  denuncia- 
tions. Jerusalem  will  soon  be  invested,  but  her  foes 
shall  disappear  as  a  vision  of  the  night.  There  follows 
a  rebuke  of  the  dull,  unintelligent  spirit  of  the  people. — 
Chap.  XXX.  begins  with  a  scathing  condemnation  of 
the  policy  of  alliance  with  Egypt.  In  verse  7  he  calls 
Egypt  by  the  mythical  name  of  the  monster  Rahab 
of  Semitic  legend  (to  which  chap.  li.  9  refers),  viz. 
"  Rahab  the  Vanquished "  (verse  7).^  The  Isaianic 
origin  of  verses  18-26  is  doubtful,  but  the  threatening 

^  Not  "  Rahab  that  sitteth  still,"  which  is  due  to  a  false  group- 
ing of  consonants.  Rahab  corresponds  to  Tidmat  of  the  Babylonian 
Creation  epic,  slain  by  Marduk,  god  of  light;  see  art.  "Cosmo- 
gony "  in  Hastings'  D.  B.,  i.  p.  505. 


loo     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

of  fiery  judgment  against  Assyria  in  the  concluding 
verses,  27-33,  is  in  the  vivid  style  and  language  of 
Isaiah.  —  Chap.  xxxi.  contains  another  strong  con- 
demnation of  the  policy  of  an  Egyptian  alliance. 
Yahweh  will  Himself  protect  Jerusalem  and  Assyria 
will  be  overthrown. — Chap,  xxxii.  1-5  contains  another 
Messianic  oracle  of  Isaiah.  The  following  verses  (6-8) 
are  by  a  later  writer  and  of  a  didactic  character.  In 
verses  9-14  Isaiah  rebukes  the  frivolity  of  the  women 
in  the  upper  classes  of  society  {cf.  iii.  16  ff.).  The 
concluding  verses,  15-20,  contain  the  promise  of  the 
advent  of  a  Messianic  age  of  righteousness  and  peace. 
— Chap,  xxxiii.  appears  to  have  been  based  on  an 
Isaianic  oracle  of  reassurance  to  Judah  and  directed 
against  Sennacherib.  This  Isaianic  oracle  has  been 
worked  over  and  adapted  to  the  circumstances  and 
events  at  the  close  of  the  Judaean  kingdom  in  the 
time  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 

Chap,  xxxiv.  is  a  denunciation  of  judgment  on  Edom 
which  must  be  placed  by  the  side  of  Mai.  i.  1-5  and 
Isa.  Ixiii.  1-6.  It  cannot  be  put  earlier  than  the 
middle  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.  To  this  a  lyrical 
pendant  is  attached  in  chap.  xxxv.  The  many  points 
of  contact  with  exilian  and  post-exilian  literature,  in- 
cluding Deutero-  and  Trito-Isaiah,  are  clear  indications 
that  the  post-exilian  date  which  we  have  indicated  is 
not  by  any  means  too  late. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     loi 

(v.)  The  historical  appendix,  chaps,  xxxvi.-xxxix., 
consisting  of  the  two  Isaiah  narratives,  which  are  nearly 
identical  with  the  corresponding  sections  in  II.  Kings 
(see  above,  §  13,  p.  87  fif.),  was  evidently  added  to  the 
preceding  collection  as  a  convenience  for  the  reader 
who  desired  to  have  at  hand  a  narrative  of  the  great 
historic  event — the  invasion  of  Sennacherib  and  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem — in  which  the  prophet  took  so  con- 
spicuous a  part.  We  shall  find  that  there  were  similar 
excerpts  in  the  collected  oracles  called  the  "  Book  of 
the  prophet  Jeremiah,"  taken  from  the  contemporary 
history  in  II.  Kings. 

Before  passing  to  the  next  main  division  of  the 
Book  of  Isaiah,  it  will  be  convenient  to  place  before 
the  reader  a  list  of  the  genuine  oracles  of  Isaiah  in 
their  probable  chronological  order : — 

Chap.  ii.  6-21.     740-739  B.C. 

„     xvii.  i-ii  (on  Damascus  and  Ephraim).     736  B.C. 
„      i.    1-26.     735    B.C.    (Syro-Ephraimite   war)   rather 

than  701  (Sennacherib's  invasion), as  most  recent 

critics  assume.     At  this  latter  date  the  tone  of 

the  prophet  was  more  hopeful. 
„      vii.  i-viii.  18.     735-731  B.C. 
„      vi.  refers  to  the  prophet's  call  in  740  B.C.  (Uzziah's 

death    year),    but   was    probably    written   about 

735-4  B.C. 
5,     v.  1-24.     About  730  B.C.  (?). 
„      iii.  i-iv.  I  may  be  assigned  to  730-25  B.C. 


102     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Chap,  xxxii.  9-14  might  be  assigned  to  the  same  period, 

or  later. 
ix.  8-x.  4,  chap.  v.  25-30.     726  B.C. 
i.  29-31  refers  to  the  Northern  rather  than  Southern 

Kingdom.     726-5  B.C. 
xxviii.  1-4  (on  Samaria).     725-4  B.C. 
viii.  19-22.     Either  735  (like  preceding  verses)  or 

any  time  between  725  and  715  B.C. 
xxviii.  7-13.     Some  time  within  724-715  B.C. 
xxviii.    14-20    may    be    conjecturally   referred    to 

713  B.C. 
Chaps.  XV.  and  xvi.     An  earlier  oracle  referring  to  Moab, 

employed  by  Isaiah  about  713-11  B.C. 
Chap.  XX.     711  B.C. 

xxii.  15-25.     705-4  B.C. 

xiv.  24-27  and  28-32.     705-4  B.C. 

X.  5-27.     705-4  B.C. 

xxix.  1-2 1  ) 

X.  28-32     |703-2B.C. 

xvii.  12-14,  xviii.  ) 

,         .         ]-  702  B.C. 
XXX.  and  xxxi.        \  ' 

xxii.  1-14.     701  B.C. 

xxi.    13-17   might  belong   to  the  same   date^   but 

its  chronological  position  is  quite  uncertain. 

After  701  B.C.  we  might  place  the  Messianic  passages 
in  the  following  probable  order :  ix.  1-7  ;  xi.  1-9  ;  xxxii. 
1-5,  15-20  ;  iv.  2-4 ;  and  perhaps  ii.  2-4,  but  the 
Isaianic  authorship  of  this  last  is  doubtful. 

(2)  Chaps,  xl.-lv.,  or  Deiitero- Isaiah.     We  now  come 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     103 

to  a  prophetic  collection  which  stands  altogether  separate 
from  the  oracles  that  precede,  and  which  European 
scholarship  during  the  last  century  has  proved  to  have 
been  written  during  the  close  and  immediately  after  the 
close  of  the  exile  This  conclusion  is  found  to  be 
inevitable  when  we  take  into  account  both  the  contents 
and  style  of  the  chapters. 

The  conte?tts  evidently  presuppose  that  Jerusalem  had 
been  destroyed,  and  its  population  in  considerable 
numbers  had  been  deported  to  Babylonia  and  were 
living  there  in  exile  (xl.  i,  2,  xlii.  22^  xliv.  26,  27, 
xlvii.  6,  xlix.  14-17,  19-21,  1.  I,  li.  13,  14,  17,  19-22, 
liv.  7  ff.,  11) ;  moreover,  that  a  restoration  of  these  exiles 
was  immediately  at  hand,  and  that  Cyrus,  the  anointed 
servant  of  Yahweh,  was  God's  chosen  instrument  to 
carry  out  His  purpose  of  Divine  redemptive  love 
(xl.  3,  4,  xli.  2,  3  (in  reference  to  Cyrus),  xli.  11-14,  25  ff. 
(in  reference  to  Cyrus),  xliii.  1-6,  16  ff.,  xliv.  28-xlv.  6 
(in  which  Cyrus  is  expressly  named  twice),  xiviii.  20,  21, 
xlix.  8,  9,  II,  12,  19-21,  Hi.  8-12,  Iv.  12,  13).  In  the 
Isaianic  sections  of  chaps,  i.-xxxix.  we  have  frequent 
allusions  to  Canaanite  forms  of  idolatry,  necromancy 
and  foreign  practices  of  divination,  to  Assyria  as  the 
dominant  military  power.  Egypt  is  denounced  as  a 
delusive  support.  The  social  sins  denounced,  of 
self-aggrandisement,    drunkenness,    and    oppression    of 


I04     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

the  poor,  are  those  of  a  resident  Palestinian  population. 
The  place-names  in  x.  28-32  are  all  Judaean.  In 
chaps,  xl.-lv.  none  of  these  characteristics  appear.  We 
have  to  do  with  a  community  of  exiles.  There  are 
no  allusions  to  altar  and  its  ritual.  Babylonia  is  the 
only  dominant  power;  Egypt  is  very  remote.  The 
only  foreign  deities  mentioned  are  the  chief  divinities 
of  Babylonia,  Nebo  {Nabi'i)  and  Bel  {i.e.  Marduk,  god 
of  light),  in  xlvi.  i.  The  scenery  in  xli.  18,  19,  xliv.  4, 
li.  3  is  that  of  Babylonia.  The  references  to  magic 
and  astrology  in  xlvii.  9,  12,  13,  like  those  of  Ezek. 
xiii.  17-23,  are  clearly  descriptive  of  the  sorcery  and 
divinations  of  Babylonia,  as  recent  publications  of  its 
incantation-rituals  definitely  prove. 

The  language  and  style  of  chaps,  xl.-lv.  are  likewise 
special  and  distinctive,  viz.  :  (i)  A  tendency  to  reduplicate 
a  word  or  phrase,  as  "Comfort  ye"  (xl.  i),  "Awake" 
(li.  9,  17,  Hi.  i),  "Depart  ye"  (Hi.  11).  (2)  A  tendency 
to  accumulate  descriptive  clauses,  e.g.  xl.  22-23,  ^^ii-  5> 
xliii.  I,  14,  16-19,  ^l^v.  6,  24-26,  xlv.  18,  xlvi.  3, 
xlviii.  I,  xlix.  7.  (3)  The  combination  of  the  Divine 
name  with  the  epithets  "Creator"  (xliii.  i),  "  stretcher 
out  of  the  heavens"  (xl.  22),  "fashioner  of  Israel" 
(xliii.  i),  "redeemer"  (xliii.  14,  xliv.  24^2,  xlvin.  17^, 
&c.).  (4)  We  have  certain  recurring  formulae — "  fear 
not,   for"    (xli.   10,    13    ff.,    xlii.    i,  5,   xlv.    2,   Hv.    4), 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     105 

"  I    the    first    and    last "    (xli.    4,    xliv.    6,    xlviii.     2). 

(5)  We   have   certain    special    expressions :    *'  Lift    up 

thine   eyes   above"    (xl.    26,   xlix.    18,    li.    6),    "things 

to  come''    or  future  (xli.    23,  xliv.    7,  xlv.   11).     The 

special   word    "  create "    in    respect   of   Divine    action 

{bard)   appears  to   have   originated  with    the  Deutero- 

Isaiah  (xl.  28,  xlv.  7),  and  passed  from  him  to  later  writers 

as  P  in  Gen.  i.  i,  27,  v.   i,  2,  &c.^     (6)  The  language 

of  Isa.   xliv.   27,   xlv.   3   has  been  compared  with  the 

Babylonian  of    the    Cyrus-cylinder,    and    the   parallels 

seem  to   clearly  indicate    that  the   Deutero-Isaiah  was 

familiar   with    the    court-style    which    was    current    in 

Babylonia,    and   employed    it    in    reference    to    Cyrus. 

Other     examples     of     the     influence     of    Babylonian 

phraseology  {e.g.   the  word  for   "bowl"  in  li.    17,   22) 

might  be  cited.     In  this  connection  the  close  parallel 

between  the    conception    of  Yahweh    hewing   Rahab 

in  pieces  in  H.  9,  10,  and  the  conflict  with  Tiamat  in 

which  the  dragon-goddess  is  hewn  in  pieces  by  Marduk 

the  god  of  light,  described  in  the  fourth  tablet  of  the 

Babylonian  Creation-epic,  is  of  great  significance. 

The  Deutero-Isaianic  oracles  fall  into  two  divisions  : — 

(i.)  Chaps,   xl.  -  xlviii.    are   reassuring   prophecies    of 

restoration.     Babylon  is  soon  to  be  overthrown, 

^  Amos   iv.    13   and    Isa.  iv.    5    are   not   pre-exilian  but    late. 
Jer.  xxxi.  22  is  doubtful. 


io6     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

and    special    reference    made   to    the   victorious 
advan-ce   of  Cyrus,   Yahweh's  anointed  Servant, 
destined  to  carry  out  His   redemptive  purpose 
in  delivering  the  exiled  Israel  and  accomplishing 
their  restoration  to  Judah. 
(ii.)  Chaps,    xlix.-lv.    contain    no    further    reference 
to    Cyrus.      They    indicate    a    later    stage    in 
the    progress    of    events.      Babylon    has    been 
taken,  and    the   prophet   is   engaged   in  setting 
forth   before  his  exiled  fellow-countrymen  their 
great    opportunity   and    the    splendid    ideals  of 
the     restored    Jewish     state    and     the     rebuilt 
temple. 
Throughout    the    Deutero-Isaiah    there    recurs    the 
epithet  "  Servant  of  Yahweh,"  whom  Yahweh  addresses 
as     "  My     Servant."      A    careful    examination    of    the 
passages  where  the  expression  occurs  soon  reveals  that 
this   is  a  personification  of  Israel.      Cf.   xliv.   i,   2,   21 
and  xlix.    3,    5.     But  a  still    closer  scrutiny  reveals    a 
distinction  in  the  use  of  the  term.     We  have  a  series 
oi  fo2ir  '-^  servant  poems''''  in  the  midst  of  the  Deutero- 
Isaiah,  viz.   chap.  xlii.    1-4,  xlix.    1-6,  1.  4-9,  Hi.    13- 
liii.    12,    in    which    this    personality    the    "Servant    of 
Yahweh"    is    the   central  figure.     Some    recent   critics 
have   argued   that   the   Deutero-Isaiah   was    the   writer 
of  these  four  Servant  poems,  and  that  the  epithet  as 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     107 

used  in  these  poems  and  by  the  Deutero-Isaiah  de- 
signates the  whole  Israelite  people.  But  careful  ex- 
amination shows  that  the  facts  point  the  other  way. 
The  Servant  in  these  four  poems  is  not  the  whole  of 
Israel,  as  xlix.  6  compared  with  verse  3  clearly  proves, 
but  a  select  portion  of  the  exiled  community  in 
Babylonia  who  were  faithful  to  their  God  and  suffered 
patiently  many  hardships  awaiting  the  promised  re- 
storation. This  faithful  remnant  suffered  as  an  atone- 
ment for  Israel  and  the  rest  of  mankind  (chap.  lii. 
13-liii.  12).  The  author  of  these  four  remarkable 
poems  lived  in  Babylonia  and  wrote  before  the  Deutero- 
Isaiah,  and  evidently  deeply  impressed  the  latter,  who 
employs  many  of  his  phrases,  but  has  distinctive  char- 
acteristics of  his  own.  Thus  "Servant  of  Yahweh" 
is  employed  by  the  Deutero-Isaiah  as  equivalent  to 
the  whole  of  Israel,  and  is  by  no  means  a  pure  and 
faultless  personage,  as  xlii.   19,   20  clearly  indicates. 

(3)  Chaps.  Ivi-lxvi.,  or  the  Trito-Isaiah,  constitute 
a  separate  collection  of  prophecies.  The  environment 
is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  Deutero-Isaiah.  In 
the  latter  we  were  in  the  midst  of  an  exiled  community 
in  Babylonia.  Anticipations  of  emancipation  from 
exile,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  community 
and  its  temple  in  Jerusalem,  fill  these  oracles  of  the 
closing   days    of  the    exile.      In    the    Trito-Isaiah   we 


io8     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

are  in  Palestinian  and  not  in  Babylonian  surroundings. 
The  temple  has  been  rebuilt,  and  sacrifices  are  offered 
there  and  a  definite  ritual  has  been  established. 
Sabbaths  are  strictly  kept.  But  as  we  pass  through 
chaps.  Ivi.-lix.  we  frequently  read  the  language  of 
bitter  and  stern  rebuke  of  hollow  formalism  and  social 
oppression  (Iviii.  and  lix.).  The  close  parallels  between 
the  circumstances  disclosed  in  these  chapters,  as  well  as 
Ixiii.— Ixvi.  and  those  in  the  oracles  of  Malachi,  clearly 
indicate  that  the  Trito-Isaiah  is  post-exilian  and  belongs 
to  some  time  between  460  and  445  B.C.  In  both 
Malachi  and  these  oracles  the  personal  Messiah  has 
no  place.  It  is  a  period  of  religious  degeneracy. 
Modes  of  religious  life  and  cultus  prevail  which  are 
survivals  of  the  old  Palestinian  life,  contrary  to  the 
ideals  of  the  Deuteronomic  code  (Isa.  Ivii,  3-10,  Ixv. 
2-5,  Ixvi.  3,  4).  We  have  likewise  definite  allusions 
in  the  concluding  chapters  to  the  Samaritan  schism 
(Ixvi.  1-6).  These  references  become  much  clearer 
when  we  study  the  earlier  chapters  of  Nehemiah. 

We  have  a  short  lyrical  group  of  chapters,  Ix.-Ixii., 
which  breathe  a  happier  spirit  of  confident  hope  and 
remind  us  of  the  Deutero-Tsaiah — indeed,  many  Deutero- 
Isaianic  expressions  here  occur.  These  lyrical  passages 
emanate  from  the  time  which  immediately  preceded 
or   perhaps    even    synchronised   with    the    advent    of 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     109 

Nehemiah,  who  brought  with  him  a  new  reforming 
spirit. 

The  style  of  the  Trito-Isaiah  shows  the  evident  in- 
fluences of  the  prophets  who  preceded,  and  also  of  the 
Book  of  Deuterono7fiy .  The  influence  of  Jeremiah  and 
that  of  Ezekiel  are  very  conspicuous,  yet  certainly  not 
so  marked  as  that  of  the  Deutero-Isaiah.  The  whole 
of  these  chapters,  however,  did  not  emanate  from  one 
author  or  one  time.  Chaps.  Ixiii.  7-lxiv.  12  belong 
to  an  earlier  post-exilian  period  preceding  the  build- 
ing of  the  temple  by  Zerubbabel,  i.e.  between  538  and 
520,  preceding  the  oracles  of  Haggai  and  Zechariah. 
Moreover,  both  in  Deutero-Isaiah  and  Trito-Isaiah 
there  are  insertions  by  a  redactor  who  evidently  Hved 
in  much  later  and  less  happy  times  (xlviii.  4,  8-10, 
17-19,  Ixvi.   23,   24). 

Probably  at  some  time  near  400  B.C.  both  Deutero- 
Isaiah  and  Trito-Isaiah  (xl.-lxvi.)  were  united  into 
one  work.  It  is  possible  that  they  were  subsequently 
combined  with  the  oracles  of  Jeremiah,  for  in  II.  Chron. 
xxxvi.  22  ff".  there  seems  to  be  a  reference  to  Isa. 
xliv.  28  as  though  it  came  from  Jeremiah.^  The 
Books     of    Chronicles,    Ezra,     and     Nehemiah    were 

^  Jer.  xxix.  lo,  in  which  no  mention  of  Cyrus  is  made,  is  by 
no  means  as  probable  a  reference  as  Isa.  xliv.  28,  in  which  Cyrus, 
is  expressly  named. 


no     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

composed  before  250  B.C.  In  Ecclesiasticus  xlviii. 
23-25  we  have  allusions  to  Isa.  xl.  i,  Ixi.  1-3,  as 
written  by  "  Isaiah  the  prophet."  This  shows  that 
the  entire  collection  of  sixty-six  chapters  as  we  now 
have  them  was  formed  by  the  time  that  Ecclesiasticus 
was  written  (180  B.C.  or  earlier). 

§  16.  The  Book  of  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  like  the 
large  collection  of  oracles  which  precedes  it,  con- 
tains much  extraneous  matter  beside  the  genuine 
utterances  of  the  prophet.  We  have  far  more  defi- 
nite biographical  information  about  Jeremiah  and  his 
literary  activity  than  we  possess  respecting  any  earUer 
prophets.  This  we  owe  to  the  fact  that  he  had  a 
young  disciple  who  was  his  faithful  companion,  Baruch. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  at  least  a  very  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  narratives  in  chaps,  xix.-xx. 
6,  xxvi.-xxix.,  xxxiv.,  and  xxxvi.-xlv.  came  from  the 
pen  of  Baruch.  In  these  biographical  records  Jere- 
miah is  called  "  the  prophet."  Among  these  narratives 
chap,  xxxvi.  has  special  importance.  We  there  learn 
that  Jeremiah,  who  began  his  prophetic  career  in 
626  B.C.  (the  13th  year  of  Josiah),  received  a  com- 
mand from  Yahweh  in  the  4th  year  of  Jehoiakim, 
or  605-4  B.C.,  to  write  down  in  a  roll  the  oracles 
which  he  had  hitherto  uttered.  The  work  was  ac- 
comphshed    at    his    dictation    by   his   young    disciple 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     iii 

Baruch,  but  within  what  time  we  are  not  told.  In 
the  following  year,  when  a  special  fast-day  was  cele- 
brated in  Jerusalem,  these  oracles  were  read  by 
Baruch  before  the  people  in  the  temple  entrance. 
And  they  were  subsequently  read  before  the  king, 
who  burned  the  entire  roll  (Jer.  xxxvi.  10-24).  But 
the  words  of  the  destroyed  roll  were  reproduced  at 
God's  command,  and  other  oracles  of  similar  import 
were  added  (verses  27-32).  This  important  chapter 
clearly  shows  (i)  that  during  the  first  twenty-three 
years  of  the  active  life  of  the  prophet  no  record 
was  taken  of  his  words;  (2)  that  a  lengthy  compen- 
dium of  his  utterances,  which  apparently  occupied  some 
time  in  writing,  was  dictated  by  the  prophet,  but  not 
so  long  that  it  could  not  be  recited  twice  over  in 
the  course  of  a  few  hours.  The  condition  in  which 
we  find  the  genuine  oracles  of  the  prophet  scattered 
in  the  midst  of  other  matter,  partly  biographical  and 
partly  of  later  exilian  or  post-exilian  origin,  clearly 
shows  that  we  have  in  our  present  book  of  the 
prophet  materials  based  upon  the  roll  of  Jeremiah's 
oracles  which  Baruch  copied  out  to  replace  the  roll 
that  was  burnt — certainly  not  the  roll  itself. 

In  order  to  recover  from  our  present  text  the  genuine 
oracles  of  Jeremiah  which  he  delivered  during  these 
first  twenty-two  years  of  his  prophetic  Hfe,  we  have  to 


112     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

separate  the  biographical  elements  in  the  earlier  chap- 
ters of  the  collection  which  speak  of  Jeremiah  in  the 
third  person  (xix.  i-xx.  6/  xxvi.),  as  well  as  the  inter- 
polations of  a  much  later  time.  There  will  then 
remain  chaps,  i.-xii.  6,  xviii.,  xxii.  lo  (lament  over 
Josiah's  successor),  and  xxv.  as  those  in  which  the 
actual  utterances  of  the  prophet  are  to  be  found 
which  belong  to  the  first  twenty-two  years  of  his 
prophetic  activity.  Yet  much  critical  caution  is  re- 
quired in  dealing  with  these  chapters.  As  Stade 
shows,  chap.  iii.  6-i8  is  interposed  between  iii.  5 
and  verse  19  and  breaks  the  continuity.  We  are 
not,  however,  to  argue  from  this  that  verses  6-18 
are  quite  independent  of  Jeremiah  and  belong  to  a 
later  time.  For  in  this  passage  the  restoration  of 
Israel,  whose  sin  was  less  heinous  than  that  of  Judah, 
is  definitely  announced,  and  this  is  substantially  the 
message  of  Jer.  xxxi.  2-6  and  15-22,  which  are  held 
by  most  critics  to  be  the  genuine  utterances  of  Jere- 
miah. Similarly,  the  connection  between  ix.  22  and 
x.  17  ff.  is  interrupted  by  a  series  of  discourses  (ix. 
23-x.  16).  Of  this  insertion  it  is  possible  that  Jere- 
miah  uttered   the  oracles  ix.   23-26,   but   it  is   hardly 

^  This  by  no  means  excludes  the  substantial  accuracy  of  the 
incidents  as  well  as  utterances  of  Jeremiah  described  in  these 
chapters  (see  Cornill's  Commentary,  pp.  230,  299). 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     113 

possible  that  x.  1-16  were  spoken  by  him,  for  verse 
II,  like  portions  of  Daniel  and  Ezra,  is  not  in 
Hebrew  but  in  Aramaic,  and  verses  6-10  are  omitted 
in  the  LXX  (B). 

We  have  also  belonging  to  this  first  period  of  the 
prophet's  career  the  narratives  in  which  Jeremiah  himself 
speaks  in  the  first  person,  and  which  evidently  originate 
from  him,  contained  in  chap,  xiii.,  as  well  as  those  in  i., 
xi.,  xviii.,  already  mentioned.  It  is,  however,  extremely 
difficult  in  some  cases  to  fix  the  chronological  order 
of  the  genuine  utterances  of  the  prophet  contained  in 
the  first  twenty-five  chapters,  and  to  determine  which 
among  them  came  before  and  which  after  the  fourth 
year  of  Jehoiakim's  reign.  Thus  it  is  quite  possible 
that  we  ought  to  place  chap.  xxxi.  2-6  and  15-22,  and 
what  seems  to  be  its  duplicate,  iii.  6-18,  among  the 
discourses  uttered  before  605  b.c.  which  were  included 
in  the  roll. 

We  might  place  in  the  time  oi  Jehoiakhn  not  only 
chaps,  xiv.,  xv.,  which  in  many  of  their  graphic  allusions 
(xiv.  2-6,  18,  XV.  2,  7-9)  point  to  a  time  of  grievous 
famine  and  drought,  but  also  chaps,  xvi.  2—xvii.  18. 
There  likewise  belong  to  the  same  period  (607-597 
B.C.)  the  narrative  sections,  chap.  xix.  i-xx.  6,  xxvi., 
xxxvi.,  and  xlv.  (the  last  two  belonging  to  the  fourth 
year  oi  Jehoiakim^ s  reign,  as  stated  in  the  opening  verse 

H 


114     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

of  each).  We  have  also  Jeremiah's  own  interesting 
narrative  respecting  the  Rechabites,  chap.  xxxv.  To 
the  brief  reign  of  three  months  of  the  next  King 
JehoiacJmi  belong  xxii.  20-30,  and  also  xiii.  18,  19. 
To  the  reign  of  the  last  King  of  Judah,  Zedekiah, 
we  must  ascribe  chaps,  xxvii.-xxix.  and  also  xxxiv., 
closely  connected  with  the  subsequent  historical  nar- 
rative, xxxvii.,  and  the  immediately  following  xxxviii. 
1-28^.  To  these  must  be  added  chaps,  xl.-xliv.^  the 
narratives  respecting  Jeremiah,  describing  the  events 
which  immediately  follow^ed  the  capture  of  Jerusalem 
by  Nebuchadnezzar's  army  (587-6  B.C.),  the  murder  of 
Gedaliah  by  Ishmael,  and  the  deliverance  of  Jeremiah 
from  the  latter  by  Johanan,  and  his  deportation  by 
Johanan  as  an  unwilling  exile  to  Egypt.  Here  all 
definite  historical  details  respecting  the  prophet  cease. 
These  narrative  sections,  which  deal  with  the  personal 
experiences  of  the  prophet,  are  evidently  based  on 
the  records  drawn  up  by  his  faithful  disciple  and 
attendant  Baruch.  Obviously  they  are  not  the  records 
themselves,  since  many  modifications  and  additions  have 
been  made.  This  can  be  clearly  seen  in  chap.  xxvi. 
Here  the  discourse  delivered  in  the  forecourt  of  the 
temple  is  evidently  the  same  as  that  which  is  given 
to  us  in  extended  form  in  chap.  vii.  3  ff. 

In  chapters  xlvi.   to  li.   we  have   a  series  of  oracles 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     115 

delivered  against  foreign  countries  and  their  peoples, 
somewhat  resembling  the  "utterances"  ("burdens") 
of  Isaiah,  introduced  by  the  editorial  heading  "The 
word  of  the  Lord  which  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet 
concerning  the  foreign  nations."  In  the  LXX  these 
oracles  are  closely  connected  with  chap,  xxv.,  which 
in  verse  i  is  dated  from  the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim's 
reign.  This  would  be  the  year  605  B.C.,  when  Nebu- 
chadnezzar fought  one  of  the  great  decisive  battles 
of  ancient  history  at  Carchemish,  and  inflicted  an 
overwhelming  defeat  on  Pharaoh  Necho,  which  com- 
pelled him  to  relinquish  all  his  ambitious  projects 
of  extending  the  Egyptian  power  to  the  Euphrates 
(Egypt's  proud  position  in  the  reign  of  Thothmes  III.). 
The  threatening  attitude  of  Nebuchadnezzar  in  Western 
Asia  was  the  natural  occasion  for  the  delivery  of  the 
two  oracles  in  chap,  xxv.,  viz.  verses  3-13,  in  which 
Nebuchadnezzar,  Yahweh's  servant,  is  to  execute  God's 
judgment  against  Judah  and  the  surrounding  nations 
(verse  9),  and  verses  15  ff.,  in  which  the  maddening 
cup  of  God's  fury  is  to  be  forced  upon  Judah,  Egypt, 
Philistia,  Edom,  Moab,  Ammon,  Tyre  (and  Sidon,  &c.), 
and  other  peoples,  and  lastly  Elam  and  Babel  (dis- 
guised under  the  name  Sheshach).  Now  in  the  LXX 
verse  14  is  absent,  and  was  probably  a  subsequent 
addition.     What  is  more  noteworthy  is  the  insertion 


ii6     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

by  the  LXX,  after  verse  13  and  before  verse  15,  of  the 
entire  series  of  chaps,  xlvi.—li.  directed  against  foreign 
peoples,  but  in  the  following  order:  xlix.  34-39  (on 
Elam),  xlvi.  2-28  (on  Egypt),  1.,  li.  (on  Babylon),  xlvii. 
(on  the  Philistines),  xlix.  7-22  (on  Edom),  xlix.  1-5 
(on  Ammon,  but  verse  6,  which  prophesies  restoration, 
is  omitted),  xlix.  28-33  (o"  Kedar),  xlix.  23-27  (on 
Damascus),  and  xlviii.  1-44  (on  Moab,  verses  45  to  47, 
with  its  prophecy  of  restoration  omitted).  When  we 
turn  to  xlvi.  2,  which  is  the  preface  to  the  oracle  on 
Egypt,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  date  there  given,  viz. 
the  fourth  year  of  Jehoiakim's  reign,  in  which  the 
battle  of  Carchemish  was  fought,  coincides  with  the 
date  given  in  xxv.  i.  There  can  hardly  be  any  doubt 
that  this  series  of  oracles  against  foreign  nations  must 
be  connected  with  the  oracles  in  chap.  xxv.  in  point 
of  time,  and  there  is  evidently  a  most  intimate  relation 
between  them. 

There  has  been  considerable  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  whether  any  of  these  oracles  (xlvi.-li.)  contains 
the  actual  words  uttered  by  Jeremiah.  Some  critics 
have  held  that  none  of  them  was  delivered  by  the 
prophet,  and  the  large  number  of  quotations  or  literary 
parallels  would  seem  to  render  this  view  probable. 
But  the  most  recent  Old  Testament  scholars  have 
argued   that,  putting  aside  chaps.   1.  and    li.,  there  is 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     117 

a  substantial  basis  of  the  original  oracles  of  Jeremiah 
contained  in  these  chapters,^  to  which  considerable 
additions  have  been  made  (as  in  the  long  oracle  on 
Moab)  in  later  times. 

The  student  should  carefully  note  the  more  im- 
portant of  the  later  additions  to  the  oracles  of  the 
prophet.  Thus  in  chap,  xvii.^  verses  19-27,  on  Sabbath 
maintenance,  are  recognised  by  all  critics  as  a  later 
addition  characteristic  of  the  times  that  followed 
Ezekiel,  but  not  of  the  teaching  of  Jeremiah.  These 
additions  are  specially  to  be  noted  in  the  group  of 
chaps,  xxx.-xxxiii.  In  chap.  xxx.  the  LXX  omit 
verses  lo-ii,  which  are  repeated  in  xlvi.  27,  28,  and 
are  thoroughly  in  Deutero-Isaianic  and  not  in  Jeremiah's 
style;  also  verses  15  and  22,  In  verses  12-17  we  find 
a  number  of  phrases  recurring  which  are  found  else- 
where, in  the  earlier  chapters  of  our  collection  of 
Jeremiah's  oracles.  In  chap,  xxxi.,  verses  7-14  exhibit 
so  many  parallels  with  later  Hebrew  literature,  especi- 
ally Deutero-Isaiah,  that  they  are  obviously  later  than 
Jeremiah.  The  same  remark  applies  to  verses  35-40. 
Verses  2-6,  15-20,  and  27-34  are  acknowledged  to  be 
the  genuine  utterances  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah.     The 

^  Cornill  in  his  Commentary  (pp.  441-4)  examines  Schwally's 
arguments  against  their  genuineness,  and  shows  them  to  be  inade- 
quate, and  in  some  cases  groundless. 


ii8     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

last  is  specially  important,  as  it  contains  the  highly 
characteristic  New  Covenant  passage,  and  embodies  the 
most  essential  element  of  Jeremiah's  teachings  which  lays 
stress  on  the  internal  renewal  of  man's  heart  by  Divine 
grace,  instead  of  the  external  rites  of  ceremonial  and 
written  prescription.  In  the  following  chapters^  xxxii. 
17-23  and  xxxiii.  14-26  are  recognised  by  critics  as 
evidently  later  insertions.  Moreover,  in  the  group  of 
oracles  on  foreign  nations,  chaps.  I.  i-li.  58,  the  long  de- 
nunciation of  doom  on  Babylon,  are  obviously  late,  since 
they  exhibit  manifest  signs  of  dependence  on  the  later 
sections  of  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  e.g.  xiii.-xiv.,  xxi.  i-io, 
xxxiv.,  XXXV.,  on  Ezekiel,  as  well  as  on  Jeremiah  (from 
whom  many  turns  of  expression  are  borrowed). 

Lastly,  we  have  in  xxxviii.  2Zb-xxxix.  18  narrative 
details  appended  by  a  redactor.  Chap,  xxxix.  4-13  are 
omitted  in  LXX  (B),  and  contain  a  history  of  the  events 
which  accompanied  the  capture  of  the  city.  Verses 
4-10  correspond  to  II.  Kings  xxv.  4-12,  which  are 
repeated  in  closer  adhesion  to  the  original  in  chap.  lii. 
7-16.  Chap.  lit.  was  evidently  the  addition  to  the 
book  made  by  a  still  later  editor,  who  excerpted 
II.  Kings  xxiv.  i8-xxv.  30,  but  substituted  for  II.  Kings 
xxv.  22-26  an  enumeration  in  lii.  28-30  of  the  number 
of  Jews  deported  to  Babylonia  by  Nebuchadnezzar. 
It   is  possible  that   this   stood    in   another   version   of 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     119 

the  original  used  by  the  editor.  It  is  omitted,  how- 
ever, in  the  LXX  (B).  The  variations  in  the  LXX 
text  of  Jeremiah  are  very  instructive.  Evidently  this 
version  was  based  on  a  shorter  and  earlier  (not  always 
more  correct)  edition  of  the  collected  prophecies  of 
Jeremiah  than  that  of  our  present  Hebrew  text. 

§  17.  The  Book  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  who  prophe- 
sied in  the  earlier  period  of  the  exile,  falls  into  five 
clearly  marked  divisions  :  (i)  Introductory  chaps,,  i.  i- 
iii.  15,  descriptive  of  the  prophet's  inauguration  to  his 
work  through  an  elaborate  vision  of  a  divine  chariot 
and  four  living  creatures.  After  this  comes  the  Divine 
mandate  to  the  prophet  expressed  in  the  symbolic  form 
of  eating  a  roll.  (2)  Chaps,  iii.  i6-xxiv.  27,  a  collec- 
tion of  discourses  upon  the  impending  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  and  further  calamities,  which  are  all  God's 
retribution  for  Judah's  faithlessness.  Many  of  these 
oracles  are  conveyed  in  allegorical  form.  (3)  Chaps, 
xxv.-xxxii.  are  oracles  against  the  seven  foreign  peoples : 
Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  Philistia,  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  Egypt 
{cf.  Jeremiah  xlvi.-xlix.).  (4)  Chaps,  xxxiii.-xxxix.,  pro- 
phecies respecting  Israel's  restoration  and  union  as  well 
as  the  final  overthrow  of  her  foes.  (5)  Chaps,  xl.-xlviii., 
an  elaborated  scheme  of  the  restored  theocracy  of  united 
Israel. 

This  collection   of  prophecies   (which   are  often  de- 


I20     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

finitely  dated^  and  were  delivered  between  592  and 
570  B.C.)  is  much  more  homogeneous  in  character  than 
those  larger  collections  which  precede,  to  which  the 
great  names  of  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  are  attached.  Not 
only  the  style  but  also  the  contents  bear  the  impress 
of  one  dominating  mind.  To  a  far  larger  extent  than 
any  preceding  prophet,  Ezekiel  was  literary.  In  him 
we  find  the  reflections  of  ideas  already  presented  in 
older  literature.  His  debt  to  Jeremiah  is  obvious, 
though  his  tendencies  differed  widely  from  those  of 
his  predecessor.  Like  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  he  had 
firmly  grasped  the  conceptions  of  God's  universal 
sovereignty,  omnipotence,  and  justice.  This  is  pre- 
supposed in  the  oracles  on  the  destinies  of  foreign 
kingdoms  (chaps,  xxv.-xxxii.).  But  he  clung  with  even 
greater  tenacity  than  either  to  God's  exceptional  provi- 
dential care  of  Israel,  and  the  central  position  to  be 
accorded  to  the  shrine  and  commonwealth  of  the 
reunited  Israelite  nation  (xl.-xlviii.),  and  the  complete 
overthrow  of  the  hostile  powers  represented  by  Gog 
(xxxviii.,  xxxix.). 

The  debt  to  Jeremiah,  the  elder  prophet,  is  notable. 
Like  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel  interpreted  the  calamities  of  his 
people  as  chastisements  for  past  transgressions — notably 
idolatry,  while  tracing  the  evil  further  back,  since  Ezekiel 
was  more  prone  to   historic  retrospect  {cf.  Ezek.  xvi., 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     121 

XX.  5,  24,  xxiii.  2).  Jeremiah  prophesied  that  Israel 
would  repent  in  the  exile  with  their  whole  heart 
(xxix.  12,  13),  and  that  Ephraim  also  would  return 
(iii.  12,  13,  xxxi.  18  if.),  and  in  Ezekiel  the  same  con- 
ception recurs  in  chap.  xi.  14  if.  The  doctrine  of 
repentance  and  the  internal  renewal  by  Divine  grace 
is  fundamental  to  the  teaching  of  the  elder  prophet 
(Jer.  xxiv.  7,  xxxi.  27-34),  and  it  reappears  in  the 
utterances  of  the  younger,  who  expresses  it  in  the  familiar 
words  that  God  would  give  the  people  "  a  heart  of  flesh 
instead  of  a  heart  of  stone"  (Ezek.  xi.  19,  20,  xx.  40- 
43,  xxxvi.  26).  The  stress  is  therefore  laid  upon  the 
viternal,  and  in  consequence  the  note  of  personal  re- 
ligion and  personal  responsibility  is  sounded.  Ezekiel, 
in  contradistinction  from  the  ideas  of  Deut.  v.  9,  10, 
denies  that  the  individual  dies  for  any  other's  sin  but 
his  own  (Ezek.  xviii.  4),  and  with  this  is  bound  up  the 
teaching  of  individual  freedom  (xx.  33  ff.). 

But,  unlike  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel  lays  stress  upon  the 
external  as  well  as  the  internal,  e.g.  Sabbath  observance 
and  ceremonial.  For  the  genius  of  this  prophet,  reflected 
in  his  style,  is  for  detail  and  cumulative  effect.  Note 
the  elaborate  consecration-vision  of  the  chariot  and  four 
living  creatures  occupying  twenty-five  verses  in  Ezekiel 
and  the  sublime  simplicity  of  Isa.  vi.  and  Jer.  i.  4-10. 
We  see  the  same  love  of  detail  and  cumulative  effect 


122     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

in  the  great  oracle  on  Tyre  (xxvii.  3-36),  and  in  the 
elaborate  scheme  of  the  restored  temple  and  Jewish  state 
in  chaps,  xl.-xlviii. 

In  this  scheme  of  restoration,  which  is  evidently  ideal 
and  not  actual,  and  may  have  received  additions  from 
later  writers,  we  see  an  important  foreshadowing  of  the 
later  legislation  (P)  called  the  Code  of  Holiness  (Lev. 
xvii.-xxvi. ;  see  above,  p.  38  ff.).  In  many  respects 
it  stands  midway  between  Deuteronomy  and  Leviticus. 
In  Deuteronomy  the  Levites  only  are  qualified  to  offer 
sacrifice ;  in  Leviticus  the  sons  of  Aaron  take  precedence 
of  the  Levites.  In  Ezek.  xliii.  19,  xliv.  15  ff.,  it  is  the 
sons  of  Zadok  only  among  the  Levites  who  have  the 
right  to  offer  sacrifice  at  the  altar  of  burnt  offering. 
The  Levites  are  relegated  to  the  subordinate  functions 
of  gatekeepers  and  slaughterers  of  sacrificial  victims 
(xliv.  10-14).  Note  also  that  the  sacrifices  become  in 
Ezekiel,  as  in  Leviticus,  more  propitiatory  in  character 
(Ezek.  xlv.  15  ;  cf.  Lev.  iv.  2  ff.,  xvii.  11  ;  Exod.  xxix. 
33,  XXX.  15  ff.).  We  have  also  a  Holy  of  Holies  in 
Ezek.  xli.  2,  in  anticipation  of  Lev.  xvi.  2.  In  Ezekiel 
we  have  a  half-yearly  ritual  of  sin-offering  whereby 
atonement  is  made  (xlv.  18-20) — a  step  towards  the 
great  Fast  Day  of  Atonement  in  Lev.  xvi.,  in  which 
the  High  Priest  occupied  so  august  and  solemn  a  place. 
The  textual  problems  of  this  book  are  many  and  subtle. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     123 

The  LXX  was  based  on  a  much  briefer  text  which 
evidently  became  expanded. 

§  18.  The  Minor  Prophets  form  the  conclusion  of 
the  Jewish  canon  of  the  "  Latter  Prophets,"  and 
probably  were  called  the  "  twelve  prophets  "  by  200  B.C., 
as  we  may  reasonably  infer  from  the  testimony  of 
Ecclesiasticus  xlix.  10;  but  the  order  of  these  twelve 
prophets  in  the  LXX  differs  from  that  of  our  Hebrew 
text  which  is  followed  in  our  Bibles,  since  the 
individual  prophets  occur  in  the  succession,  Hosea, 
Amos,  Micah,  Joel,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  and  the  rest 
in  the  same  sequence.  Moreover,  the  "  twelve  prophets  " 
precede,  and  do  not  follow,  the  group  of  greater  prophets. 

Hosea,  with  whom  the  series  commences,  is  the 
only  prophet  of  the  Northerji  Kingdom  whose  oracles 
have  come  down  to  us  in  a  separate  collection.  The 
book  falls  into  two  sharply  divided  portions :  (i)  Chaps, 
i.-iii.,  which  recount  the  tragedy  of  the  prophet's 
domestic  life,  blighted  by  the  unfaithfulness  of  his 
wife  Gomer.  (2)  Chaps,  iv.-xiv.  contain  a  series  of 
discourses  directed  against  Ephraim,  in  which  it  is 
difficult  to  find  any  decisive  indications  to  guide 
us  to  a  definite  chronological  order.  According  to 
the  superscription,  he  delivered  his  oracles  from  the 
time  of  Jeroboam  and  Uzziah  until  that  of  Hezekiah. 
This  was,  of  course,  prefixed,  like  other  superscriptions 


124     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

in  the  prophecies  and  psalms,  by  a  late  editor.  These 
are  not  in  some  cases  reliable.  In  this  case  it  is 
somewhat  strange  that  Jeroboam  is  the  only  king 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom  who  is  mentioned.  Many 
critics  hold  that  none  of  Hosea's  prophecies  can  be 
placed  later  than  735  B.C.,  since  we  find  no  allusion 
to  the  Syro-Ephraimite  war  or  to  the  disastrous  inva- 
sion by  Tiglath  Pileser  III.  in  734-2  B.C.,  whereby  the 
Northern  Kingdom  was  shorn  of  a  portion  of  its 
territory.  But  a  careful  examination  of  Hosea's  oracles 
would  lead  to  quite  another  conclusion.  As  distin- 
guished from  Hosea's  earlier  contemporary  Amos,  we 
find  definite  references  to  Assyria.  The  utter  social  dis- 
organisation of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  to  which  many 
passages  allude,  point  to  a  period  subsequent  to 
rather  than  before  the  invasion  of  734-2.  Chap.  vi. 
I,  2 J  8-9,  vii.  9  (foreigners  have  devoured  his  strength), 
viii.  4  (presupposing  an  interval  of  several  reigns  since 
the  end  of  the  dynasty  of  Jehu),  ix.  15,  xii.  12  (altars 
in  Gilgal  transformed  into  ruined  stone-heaps)  are 
best  explained  when  Tiglath  Pileser's  campaign  is 
placed  in  retrospect.  The  pathos  of  Hosea's  agonised 
appeal  to  his  countrymen  in  chap.  x.  12-14,  xi.  5-8 
is  best  understood  when  we  assign  to  these  passages 
the  date  726-5  b.c.  This  is  confirmed  by  chap.  xii.  i, 
which  evidently  refers  to  King  Hoshea's  double-dealing. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     125 

and  his  negotiations  with  Egypt  (H.  Kings  xvii.  4)  carried 
on  at  this  time.  725,  rather  than  735,  is  the  closing 
date  of  Hosea's  oracles. 

The  keynote  to  all  these  oracles  is  furnished  by 
the  domestic  tragedy  of  his  wife's  unfaithfulness,  and 
the  prophet's  efforts  to  win  her  back  to  his  home, 
contained  in  chaps,  i.-iii.  This  event  in  his  past 
history  is  treated  as  the  parable  of  Yahweh's  relation 
as  Divine  husband  to  Israel,  who  is  unfaithful  to  His 
love  and  is  drawn  aside  by  the  seductions  of  Baal- 
worship  and  foreign  alliances  from  her  loyalty  to  her 
Lord. 

Joel's  prophecies,  unlike  those  of  Hosea,  Amos, 
and  Micah,  but  like  those  of  Nahum  and  Habakkuk, 
contain  no  indications  of  date  in  the  opening  verse. 
Recent  critics  are  agreed  in  holding  that  this  small 
collection  of  prophecies  is  post-exilian.  Numerous 
internal  features  point  to  a  date  a  little  before  400  b.c 
(a)  Chap.  iii.  2,  17  evidently  point  back  to  586  B.C., 
when  the  Jews  were  deported  into  exile  and  Jerusalem 
destroyed,  (d)  Chap.  ii.  9,  with  its  reference  to  the 
walls  and  houses  of  Jerusalem,  presupposes  the  city 
rebuilt  as  in  the  days  after  the  advent  of  Nehemiah.  (c) 
Chap.  ii.  12-14  contain  a  summons  to  "  fasting,  weeping, 
and  mourning,"  a  combination  characteristic  of  post- 
exilian  Judaism  (Neh.  i.  4 ;  cf.  Ezra  viii.  23,  ix.  5,  x.  6). 


126     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Moreover,  there  is  no  reference  to  idolatry,  sorcery, 
and  other  sins  that  prevailed  in  pre-exilian  Israel,  {d) 
Desolation  is  threatened  against  Egypt  for  "shedding 
innocent  blood  in  their  land."  Probably  we  should 
connect  these  outrages  committed  against  Jews  in  Egypt 
with  the  destruction  of  their  temple  in  Elephantine 
about  409  B.C.,  of  which  we  are  informed  in  the  Aramaic 
papyri  recently  discovered  in  that  spot. 

Amos,  a  herdman  of  Tekoah  and  dresser  of  sycamores 
(i.  I,  vii.  14),  is  the  earliest  prophet  whose  collected 
oracles  have  come  down  to  us  in  a  separate  literary 
form.  They  may  be  divided  into:  (i)  Chaps,  i.,  ii.,  a 
series  of  oracles  on  foreign  peoples — Syria  (Damascus), 
Philistia  (Gaza),  Phoenicia  (Tyre),  Edom,  Ammon, 
and  Moab,  and  ending  with  Judah  and  Israel.  (2) 
Chaps,  iii.-vi.  contain  oracles  chiefly  directed  against 
the  Northern  Kingdom,  whose  luxury,  self-indulgence, 
and  oppression  of  the  poor  are  sternly  denounced 
(iii.  14,  15).  Drought  and  mildew  are  penalties  threa- 
tened. Chap.  V.  is  the  most  noteworthy.  Verses  21  ff., 
in  which  hollow  ceremonialism  is  rebuked  and  righteous- 
ness demanded,  are  re-echoed  in  Isa.  chap.  i.  (3) 
Chaps,  vii.-ix.  record  a  series  of  visions,  with  an  inter- 
posed episode  (vii.  10-17),  in  which  Amos  comes  into 
conflict  with  the  court  of  the  king  represented  by 
the  High   Priest  Amaziah  at  the  sanctuary  at  Bethel. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     127 

These  prophecies  belong  to  the  middle  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, ix.  from  765  to  about  736  B.C.,  but  not  later.  From 
the  Assyrian  Eponym-lists  we  learn  that  in  June  763  B.C. 
there  was  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  at  Nineveh.  Amos, 
who  was  sensitive  to  natural  phenomena  of  earth 
and  sky  (v.  8,  ix.  6),  probably  alludes  to  this  event 
in  V.  20,  viii.  9.  If  we  follow  the  reading  Assyria 
instead  of  Ashdod  in  iii.  9,  on  the  authority  of  the 
LXX,  we  may  reasonably  hold  chap.  iii.  11,  12  to  be 
a  prophecy  of  Tiglath  Pileser's  invasion  in  734-2  B.C. 

While  Hosea's  prophetic  teaching  laid  stress  on 
God's  mercy  and  love,  Amos  proclaimed  His  universal 
sovereignty  and  righteousness.  It  was  Yahweh  who 
not  only  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  but  the  Philistines 
from  Caphtor  and  the  Syrians  from  Kir  (ix.  7),  that 
made  the  Pleiades  and  Orion,  and  "calleth  for  the 
waters  of  the  sea  and  poureth  them  out  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  "  (v.  8).  The  God  of  righteousness  demands 
righteousness  in  human  conduct  (v.  24,  viii.  4-6),  rather 
than  mere  external  routine  of  ceremonial  observance. 
It  was  the  epoch-making  service  to  the  cause  of  re- 
ligious progress  rendered  by  this  prophet  that  he  eman- 
cipated the  Hebrew  conception  of  God  from  the 
restrictions  of  mere  nationalism.  He  was  now  Lord 
of  the  World  rather  than  the  patron-deity  of  a  mere 
race.      In   the   stress   which   was   now  laid   upon    the 


128     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

righteousness  of  God,  religion  was  delivered  from  the 
limitations  of  ritual  and  made  ethical  rather  than  cere- 
monial. The  echoes  of  his  ideas  resound  in  the 
prophets  that  followed  and  also  in  the  Psalms  (Isa.  Iviii., 
Ps.  XV.,  1.,  li.  1 6,  17). 

It  is  generally  acknowledged  among  critics  that 
chap.  ix.  11-15  is  a  later  post-exilian  addendum. 

Obadiah,  the  shortest  prophecy  in  this  collection,  is 
occupied  with  a  denunciation  of  doom  against  Edom  for 
his  attacks  on  his  brother-nation  Jacob  when  foreigners 
besieged  and  entered  Jerusalem.  This  allusion  to  the 
terrible  year  586,  when  that  city  was  destroyed,  shows 
that  this  prophecy  is  to  be  dated  after  that  event, 
since  the  disasters  which  are  to  overtake  Edom  are 
a  retribution  for  outrages  committed  against  Judah. 

Verses  1-9  exhibit  many  parallels  with  Jer.  xlix. 
7-22.  The  question  arises  which  is  the  original. 
Careful  comparison  shows  that  Obadiah  possesses  the 
better  claim.  At  the  same  time,  the  Obadiah  prophecy 
appears  to  have  been  extended  in  later  times  beyond 
its  original  form,  which  critics  hold  to  be  verses  1-5, 
7,  lo-ii,  13-14,  and  the  latter  part  of  verse  15.  It 
is  possible  that  we  should  connect  the  denunciation 
of  doom  on  Edom  with  Mai.  i.  2-5  and  Isa.  Ixiii.  1-6, 
when  Edom's  chastisement  is  in  process  of  accom- 
plishment or  has  been  already  consummated.     Obadiah's 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     129 

prophecy  is  somewhat  earlier,  in  time,  i.e.  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.  About  this  time  Edom 
was  hard  pressed  by  Arab  incursions. 

Jonah. — We  read  of  "Jonah,  son  of  Amittai,  the 
prophet  which  was  of  Gath-hepher,"  in  the  reign  of 
Jeroboam  II.  (II.  Kings  xiv.  25).  The  identity  of 
this  prophet  with  the  prophet  of  this  book  is  clearly 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  Nineveh  and  the  Assyrian 
empire  were  flourishing  at  that  time.  Nevertheless 
the  style  of  this  book,  as  well  as  the  narrative  form 
in  which  it  is  cast,  are  clear  proofs  of  its  later  post- 
exilian  origin.  It  has  been  assigned  by  recent  critics 
to  the  late  Persian,  or  even  the  early  Greek  period, 
when  there  was  a  strong  reaction  against  the  narrow 
anti-foreign  spirit  of  Judaism,  and  a  revival  of  the 
nobler  traits  of  Hebrew  prophecy  reflected  in  Jeremiah 
and  Deutero-Isaiah.  The  broader  spirit  of  love  to  all 
humanity,  and  even  to  the  beasts  of  the  earth  as  the 
objects  of  Divine  care  and  compassion,  finds  eloquent 
expression  in  the  closing  words  of  God's  rebuke  to 
the  prophet  (iv.  10,  11).  Into  the  framework  of  the 
narrative  the  editor  has  inserted  in  chap.  ii.  2-9  a 
prayer-psalm,  just  as  in  Isa.  xxxviii.  9-20  and  Hab.  iii. 

Micah  of  Moresheth,  to  whom  Jeremiah  (xxvi.  18) 
alludes,  was  a  younger  contemporary  of  the  prophet 
Isaiah.     Jeremiah,  who  quotes  Micah  iii.  12,  places  him 

I 


130     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  and  the  closely  analogous 
passage,  Micah  i.  5-9,  clearly  proves  that  he  prophesied 
in  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  shortly  before  the  overthrow  of 
Samaria  (722-1  B.C.).  Chaps,  i.-iii.,  both  in  style  and 
contents,  evidently  belong  to  the  same  period  as  the 
oracles  of  Isaiah.  The  same  social  sins  are  denounced, 
£.g.  the  oppression  of  the  poor  by  the  rich.  With 
Isa.  v.  7,  8,  cf.  Micah  ii.  2,  iii.  2,  3.  False  prophets 
and  divination  are  also  denounced  {cf.  Isa.  ii.  6),  and 
the  sin  of  idolatry,  Micah  i.  7  {cf.  Isa.  i.  29,  ii.  18-20). 

But  it  is  not  possible  to  assign  to  Micah  and  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighth  century  more  than  chaps,  i.-iii. 
Chap.  iv.  opens  with  a  description  of  a  Messianic  age 
when  Jerusalem  is  to  be  the  centre  of  the  universal  wor- 
ship and  peace  of  humanity  (verses  1-5,  of  which  verses 
1-3  recur  in  Isa.  ii.  2-4).  This  passage  is  probably  late 
exilian  or  early  post-exilian  (coeval  with  the  Deutero- 
Isaiah).  The  following  verses  of  this  and  the  next 
chapter  are  complex  in  character,  the  connection  in 
thought  being  frequently  imperfect.  In  verses  iv.  6  ff. 
we  have  prophecies  of  restoration,  but  the  reference 
to  Babylon  in  verse  10  clearly  shows  that  verses  8-10 
belong  to  a  later  age  than  the  time  of  Micah,  though 
it  is  difficult  to  assign  a  definite  date.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  definite  reference  to  the  overthrow  of  Assyria 
in  the  Messianic  passage,  chap.  v.  2-6  [1-5  Heb.],  as 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     131 

well  as  to  the  "  ruler "  who  is  to  come  forth  from 
Bethlehem,  appear  to  point  to  the  earlier  part  of  Josiah's 
reign  when  the  power  of  Assyria  was  declining.  Simi- 
larly Jer.  xxiii.  5,  6. 

Chap.  vi.  I  -  vii.  6  form  an  entirely  new  section. 
There  is  a  controversy  between  Yahweh  and  His 
people.  Nearly  all  recent  critics  accept  Ewald's  view 
that  this  section  was  composed  by  some  unknown 
writer  in  the  age  of  Manasseh.  Verses  4  and  5  seem 
to  show  that  the  writer  was  acquainted  with  the 
traditions  of  J  E,  while  the  reference  to  the  sacrifice 
of  the  first-born  in  vi.  7  points  to  the  degenerate  reign 
of  Manasseh.  On  the  other  hand,  chap.  vii.  8-20 
proceed  upon  other  presuppositions.  Disaster  has 
befallen  Israel,  but  there  is  pardon  and  restoration 
awaiting  them.  This  latter  section  evidently  belongs 
to  the  age  of  Deutero-Isaiah. 

Nahum's  oracles  are  directed  against  Assyria. 
Chap.  iii.  8-10  are  a  vivid  allusion  to  the  capture 
of  Thebes  in  Egypt  (called  No)  by  the  Assyrian  armies. 
From  the  inscriptions  of  Esarhaddon  and  Ashurbanipal 
we  know  that  the  event  referred  to  must  have  occurred 
between  670  and  662  b.c.  This  time,  therefore,  must 
have  preceded  the  composition  of  the  oracles,  while 
the  final  overthrow  of  Nineveh  in  606  B.C.  must  have 
succeeded  it.     Between    these    two    dates    these    utter- 


132     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

ances  must  have  been  delivered.  The  rise  of  the 
new  Babylonian  Empire  under  Nabopolassar  and  of 
the  Median  power  under  Cyaxares  about  624  b.c, 
which  brought  about  this  overthrow,  point  to  some 
date  between  624  and  606.  The  memory  of  the 
capture  of  the  Egyptian  Thebes  was  still  vivid.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  prophet  regards  the  destruction 
of  Nineveh  as  closely  impending  (i.  2,  13),  and  the 
scenes  of  slaughter  which  accompany  the  siege  of 
the  city  are  vividly  portrayed  in  chap.  ii.  3-6.  Traces 
of  an  acrostic  poem  have  been  discovered  in  chap.  i.  2- 
ii.  2  (3  Heb.). 

Habakkuk's  collection  of  prophecies  involves  some 
difficult  problems.  For  their  discussion  the  student  is 
referred  to  Driver's  Introduction  ("  Literature  of  the 
Old  Testament"),  8th  ed.,  p.  338,1  qj.  ^q  the  briefer 
Introduction  by  Cornill.  The  date  of  the  major  portion 
of  his  oracles  (chaps,  i.  and  ii.)  may  be  placed  a  little 
before  600  b.c.  (reign  of  Jehoiakim).  Chap.  ii.  5-8  is 
directed  against  the  Babylonians  (Chaldaeans),  against 
whom  the  nations  that  they  have  oppressed  shall  turn. 
Here  we  note  a  very  different  attitude  towards  Babylonia 
from  that  of  Jeremiah  (who  was  Habakkuk's  con- 
temporary) and  Ezekiel.  It  rather  resembles  that  of 
the  Deutero-Isaiah  (xlvii.),  or  that  of  Isaiah  in  the 
^  See  also  "  Minor  Prophets,"  ii.  (Century  Bible),  p.  58  f. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     133 

eighth  century  against  Assyria  (x.  5-27,  xxx.  27-33). 
Chap.  i.  5-1 1  (according  to  Driver,  i-ii)  probably 
belong  to  an  earlier  period  in  which  the  Babylonians 
are  summoned  by  God  to  inflict  chastisement  for  wrong- 
doing {cf.  Isa.  vii.  18-20,  viii.  7,  8). 

Chap.  iii.  is  a  much  later  Psalm,  with  the  terms 
employed  in  the  temple  music,  such  as  Shigionoth  {cf. 
Ps.  vii.  title)  and  Selah,  introduced.  This  *'  Prayer  of 
Habakkuk  "  has  been  appended  (just  as  II.  Sam.  xxii. 
and  Isa.  xxxviii.  9-20)  by  the  redactor. 

Zephaniah's  prophecies  belong,  as  the  title  in  i.  i 
tells  us,  to  an  earlier  date,  evidently  the  earlier  part  of 
Josiah's  reign  which  preceded  the  Reformation  (621  b.c). 
This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  references  to  idolatry 
(i.  4-6),  which  prove  that  the  evil  influences  which  pre- 
vailed during  Manasseh's  and  Amon's  reign  had  not 
yet  been  removed.  Moreover,  the  Assyrian  power  was 
still  dominant  (ii.  13),  though  probably  in  a  state  of 
decline.  Opinions  greatly  vary  as  to  how  much  of 
chaps,  ii.  and  iii.  form  genuine  matter.  Most  critics 
are  agreed  that  chap.  iii.  9-10  are  a  later  addition. 
With  the  exception  of  ii.  7  (last  clause)  and  11,  i4-i5» 
and  iii.  13-20,  which  are  crowded  with  Deutero-Isaianic 
reminiscences,^  there  are  no  strong  grounds  for  ascrib- 
ing the  authorship  to  any  other  than  Zephaniah. 

^  Chap.  ii.  15  coincides  with  Isa.  xlvii.  8  to  a  large  extent. 


134     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Haggai's  prophecies  are  clearly  defined  as  to  date. 
It  is  our  earliest  collection  of  post-exilian  oracles.  They 
all  belong  to  the  second  year  of  Darius  Hystaspis,  viz. 
520  B.C.  The  book  contains  four  distinct  deliverances 
of  the  prophet,  each  of  which  is  dated,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  age,  from  the  year  of  the  Persian 
monarch's  reign  :  (i)  Chap.  i.  in  the  2nd  year  of  Darius, 
6th  month,  ist  day;  (2)  chap.  ii.  1-9  in  the  7th  month, 
2 1  St  day;  (3)  chap.  ii.  10-19  ^^  ^he  9th  month,  24th 
day ;  (4)  chap.  ii.  20-23  on  the  same  day  of  the  same 
year,  520  b.c.  The  general  burden  of  all  these  utter- 
ances is  severe  rebuke  of  the  Jewish  people  in  Judah 
for  delaying  the  work  of  rebuilding  the  temple.  In 
the  last  oracle  we  have  a  Messianic  prophecy  of  the 
overthrow  of  kingdoms  and  of  the  Divine  appointment 
of  Zerubbabel. 

The  prophecies  of  Zechariah  fall  into  two  main 
divisions  :  (i)  Chaps,  i.-viii.,  which  are  the  genuine  utter- 
ances of  the  prophet ;  and  (2)  chaps,  ix.-xiv.,  which  are 
not  genuine. 

(i)  Chaps,  i.-viii.  contain  a  series  of  visions  which 
commence  with  520  b.c.  (second  year  of  Darius)  and 
end  with  518  B.C.  (fourth  year  of  Darius).  The  trance- 
vision  which  is  here  the  medium  of  Divine  communica- 
tion is  not  characteristic  of  pre-exilian,  but  rather  of 
exilian  {i.e.  Ezekiel's  oracles)  and  post-exilian  prophecy. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     135 

The  historic  situation  is  the  same  as  that  which  is  dis- 
closed in  the  contemporary  prophecies  of  Haggai.  Jeru- 
salem's temple  and  the  cities  of  Judah  are  still  in 
ruins,  but  they  will  soon  be  rebuilt  (i.  16,  17).  Chap.  iii. 
(vision  of  Satan  accusing  the  High  Priest  clothed  in 
rags)  is  a  prophecy  fulfilled  in  subsequent  history  of  the 
enhanced  prestige  of  the  High  Priest.  With  it  is  com- 
bined a  promise  of  the  coming  Messiah.  This  Messianic 
prophecy  was  afterwards  supplemented  by  another  (vi. 
9—15),  which  in  its  original  form  confers  a  crown  on 
the  "  Branch "  {cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  5,  6)  Zerubbabel,  who  is 
destined  to  complete  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple.^ 
Chaps,  vii.  and  viii.  (518  B.C.)  are  no  longer  visions, 
but  "  words  of  the  Lord  "  which  enforce  the  warnings 
of  past  history  and  the  claims  of  his  moral  law  to 
"execute  true  judgment  and  show  mercy"  (vii.  9,  10). 
A  Messianic  prophecy  follows  of  the  glory  of  the 
renovated  Jerusalem  (chap.  viii.). 

(2)  Chaps,  ix.-xiv.  are,  both  in  language  and  con- 
tents, of  a  totally  different  character  from  chaps,  i.-viii., 
and    present    us   with    some    very   complex    problems. 

^  The  text  has  evidently  been  modified  in  accordance  with  the 
exigencies  of  later  "  history  which  placed  the  High  Priest  and 
not  the  King  at  the  head  of  the  Jewish  community"  (Marti). 
See  Driver's  note  (Century  Bible,  "Minor  Prophets,"  ii.)  on  Zech. 
vi.  II.  Zerubbabel  after  this  time  vanishes  from  the  scene  of 
history. 


136     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Forty  years  ago  (about  1870  and  earlier)  it  was  generally 
held  that  these  chapters  belonged  to  the  pre-exilian 
period.  Chap.  ix.  belonged  to  about  750  B.C.  Chap.  x. 
is  somewhat  later,  since  verses  9,  10  allude  to  Tiglath 
Pileser  III.'s  deportations  from  N.  Israel  in  734-2  B.C. 
(II.  Kings  XV,  29).  Chap.  x.  2  refers  to  teraphim 
and  diviners  {cf.  Isa.  ii.  6 ;  Hos.  iii.  4).  Chap.  xi. 
4-17,  with  xiii.  7-9,  were  held  to  refer  to  the  troubles 
which  befell  the  Northern  Kingdom  and  to  the  brief 
reigns  of  three  of  its  kings  (xi.  8).  On  the  other  hand, 
xii.  T-xiii.  6  and  xiv.,  in  which  no  reference  is  made 
to  the  Northern  Kingdom,  were  assigned  to  the  closing 
years  of  the  seventh  century  and  the  Judaean  Kingdom. 

But  since  1882  critical  views  have  changed,  and  it 
is  generally  held  that  ix.-xiv.  must  be  assigned  to  a 
later  post-exWiBXi  period  than  the  chapters  which  precede. 
The  mention  of  the  Greeks  in  ix.  13  and  the  general 
character  of  the  contents  of  verses  13-15  (cf.  xiv.  i  ff.) 
point  to  a  time  of  conflict  between  Israel  and  the 
Greeks.  This  leads  many  scholars  to  place  these  oracles 
in  the  days  of  Alexander's  invasion  of  Palestine  or 
later  (between  332  and  280  B.C.).  There  are  many 
reminiscences  of  older  oracles  (e.g.  xiv.  8,  of  Ezek.  xlvii. 
1-12).  Probably  some  old  pre-exilian  oracles  belonging 
to  the  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  have  been  worked 
into  the  texture  of  these  prophecies  in  chaps,  ix.  ff. 


THE    PROPHETICAL    BOOKS     137 

The  prophecies  of  Malachi.  About  Malachi  as  a 
person  nothing  is  known.  The  word  signifies  "my 
{Le.  Yahweh's)  messenger " ;  or  more  probably  it  is  a 
contraction  for  Malachiah  or  "messenger  of  Yahweh." 
The  reference  to  the  "governor"  as  well  as  the  form 
of  the  name  {cf.  Hag.  i.  i  ;  Neh.  v.  14,  xii.  16,  &c.) 
point  clearly  to  the  Persian  period,  while  the  allusions 
to  offerings  and  tithes  and  to  the  temple  ("my  house," 
iii.  10)  clearly  indicate  that  these  oracles  belong  to  a 
period  v/hen  the  temple  in  Jerusalem  had  for  some  time 
been  rebuilt,  i.e.  some  decades  later  than  the  time  of 
Zechariah.  It  was  a  time  of  religious  declension. 
Offerings  were  defective  (i.  7,  8,  12).  Even  the  priest- 
hood was  debased  (ii.  8).  This  and  the  national  degra- 
dation (ii.  1 1  ^ndpassim)  incur  the  sternest  denunciation 
of  the  prophet.  Evidently  the  age  of  Malachi  preceded 
the  advent  of  Nehemiah  (445  B.C.)  and  coincided 
with  that  of  the  Trito-Isaiah  (see  above,  p.  107  f.).  The 
references  to  ritual,  excepting  perhaps  tithe  offerings  (iiio 
9,  10),  point  to  the  traditions  embodied  in  Deuteronomy 
rather  than  the  Priestercodex.  So  also  the  mention 
of  Levi  or  "  sons  of  Levi "  (ii.  4,  8,  iii.  3)  instead  of 
the  "  sons  of  Aaron,"  and  of  Horeb  instead  of  Sinai, 
(iv.  4),  show  that  these  oracles  belong  to  the  close  of 
the  earlier  half  of  the  fifth  century  (about  455  b.c). 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  HAGIOGRAPHA 

§  19.  The  Hagiographa  ("sacred  writings"),  called  by 
the  Jews  "the  writings"  {K'thrUtm),  form  the  last  or 
tht7'd  portion  of  their  canonised  literature.  In  the  pre- 
face to  Ecclesiasticus  or  "  Wisdom  of  Jesus  son  of  Sirach  " 
(132  B.C.),  after  the  mention  of  the  "  Law  "  and  "  the  Pro- 
phets" it  is  called  by  the  somewhat  indefinite  phrase 
"  the  others  who  followed  them,"  or  "  the  other  books 
of  our  fathers,"  or  the  "rest  of  the  books." 

It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  this  expression 
included  all  the  books  of  our  Hagiographa,  or  even 
all  the  Psalms  of  our  Psalter.  The  dearth  of  reference 
to  some  of  the  books  in  Jewish  literature  or  in  the  New 
Testament  down  to  a.d.  100  renders  it  probable  that 
some  of  them,  viz.  Song  of  Songs,  Esther,  and  Ecclesiastes, 
were  only  in  comparatively  late  times  admitted  into 
this  third  section  of  "  sacred  writings." 

§  20.  The    Psalms    or    Psalter   formed   the   religious 

liturgical  song-book  of  the  Jewish  people,  which  arose 

138 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  139 

as  a  collection  in  post-exilian  Israel  when  the  nation 
had  passed  out  of  the  condition  of  a  kingdom  into 
that  of  an  ecclesiastical  community.  It  is  divided  into 
five  books,  apparently  after  the  model  of  the  Pentateuch, 
which  had  by  that  time,  i.e.  after  the  days  of  Nehemiah, 
become  a  canonised  work.  These  five  books  are  (i) 
Pss.  1-41,  (2)  42-72,  (3)  73-895  (4)  90-106,  (5) 
107-150.  These  separate  books  are  clearly  marked 
out  in  the  text  by  the  concluding  doxologies,  except 
the  last,  in  which  such  a  doxology  would  have  been 
superfluous,  as  the  final  Psalm  has  the  character  of  a 
lengthened  doxology.  These  concluding  formulae  vary 
somewhat,  though  some  terms  or  phrases  recur.  It 
certainly  would  be  an  error  to  suppose  that  this  divi- 
sion into  books  was  purely  artificial  and  was  a  special, 
arrangement  made  at  one  and  the  same  time.  This 
would  not  account  for  the  fact  that  these  collections 
have  special  characteristics.  Thus  in  Book  i.  (Pss. 
1-4 1 )  Yahweh  is  the  prevalent  sacred  name.  It  occurs 
272  times,  while  the  ordinary  name  "God"  {Elohtm) 
occurs  only  fifteen  times.  Similarly,  in  Book  iii.,  Pss. 
84-89,  and  also  in  Books  iv.  and  v.  almost  entirely. 
In  Book  ii.  (Pss.  42-72)  "God"  is  the  prevalent 
name  and  occurs  164  times,  while  Yahiveh  is  only 
found  thirty  times.  Similarly,  in  Book  iii.,  Pss.  73-83. 
Moreover,  we  have  the  same  Psalm  repeated,  Ps.  xiv. 


T40     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

in  Book  i.  being  identical  (save  in  the  name  for  deity 
and  slight  textual  varieties)  with  Ps.  liii.  in  Book  ii. ; 
also  Ps.  xl.  14-18  in  Book  i.  is  the  same  as  Ps.  Ixx. 
in  Book  ii.  These  facts  point  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  separate  books,  like  the  other  separate  collections, 
of  which  we  shall  presently  speak,  arose  indepen- 
dently. Otherwise  these  duplications  would  not  have 
occurred. 

Many  of  the  Psalms  possess  "////<?5,"  '•''superscrip- 
tions^^^ or  headings.  These  are  almost  wholly  found 
in  the  first  three  books,  and  are  rightly  separated  in 
our  A.V.  from  the  text  of  the  Psalm  itself.  The  same 
course  ought  to  have  been  pursued  in  the  case  of 
the  prophets  {e.g.  Isa.  i.  i,  ii.  i,  xiii.  i  ;  Jer.  i.  1^3; 
Hos.  i.  I,  &c.),  since  they  were  editorial  and  added 
in  later  times  to  the  text,  and  do  not  therefore  possess 
the  same  authoritative  value  as  the  original  text  itself. 
This  is  a  fact  of  considerable  importance  which  should 
be  remembered  when  we  have  to  deal  with  the  question 
of  the  authorship  and  date  of  the  Psalm  (or  prophecy). 
Many  of  these  Psalm-titles  contain  technical  musical 
terms  of  which  we  no  longer  know  the  precise  mean- 
ing, though  we  can  discern  in  some  cases  the  probable 
significance.  Moreover,  a  comparison  with  the  MSS. 
of  the  LXX  and  also  with  the  Syriac  version  shows 
that   our   Hebrew  text  represents  one  form  (probably 


THEHAGIOGRAPHA  141 

a  selection)  of  these  subsequently  added  liturgical 
Psalm-headings.  When  we  come  to  examine  the  con- 
tents of  some  Davidic  Psalms  and  compare  them  to- 
gether, it  is  quite  evident  that  the  particular  occasion 
to  which  the  origin  of  the  Psalm  is  attributed  (as  in 
Pss.  li.,  Hi.,  liv.,  Ivi.,  Ivii.,  lix.)  has  been  artificially 
connected  with  the  Psalm,  because  these  Psalms  belong 
to  a  special  collection  to  which  the  name  of  David 
was  attached,  and  some  suitable  occasion  in  his  life  was 
selected  by  the  post-exilian  editor  who  appended  the 
title.  That  David  was  a  musician  is  fairly  clear  from 
Amos  vi.  5,  and  that  songs  enlivened  the  social  life 
of  the  people  is  obvious  from  many  indications  (Amos 
V.  23,  where  it  is  evident  that  religious  songs  to  a 
musical  accompaniment  are  meant) ;  cf.  Isa.  v.  1 2. 
We  know  that  David  composed  funereal  elegies 
(11.  Sam.  i.  17  if.,  iii.  -t^^  ff.),  and  it  is  therefore 
probable  that  he  composed  songs  for  religious  worship. 
Ps.  Ix.  5-12,  which  are  repeated  in  Ps.  cviii.,  probably 
contain  an  old  war-song  composed  on  the  occasion  of 
a  perilous  crisis  in  the  wars  against  his  Eastern  foes 
(11.  Sam.  viii.  2,  3,  13-14;  cf,  chap,  x.,  xii.  26  f.).  It  is 
not  impossible  that  Ps.  xviii.  i— 19,  or  a  portion  of  it,  was 
a  Davidic  song  of  thanksgiving  composed  at  the  close 
of  his  reign.  The  interesting  fragment  from  an  old 
poem   or   song    composed   by    Solomon,   contained   in 


142     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

I.  Kings  viii.  12,  13  (which  the  LXX  in  verse  53 
gives  more  fully,  see  p.  81),  shows  that  such  a  poem  as 
Ps.  xix.  1-7  might  be  based  on  an  early  song  of  like 
character  belonging  to  the  age  of  Solomon.  The 
existence  of  such  early  poems  as  Deborah's  song 
(Judges  v.),  and  the  poetic  form  of  pre-exilian  Hebrew 
prophecy  {cf.  Isa.  ix.  8-x.  4,  v.  25-30  and  its  refrain 
with  Ps.  Ixxx.),  clearly  indicate  that  some  of  the 
Psalms  may  have  a  pre-exilian  origin. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  little  evidence  in  the 
Old  Testament  that  religious  songs  formed  any  con- 
spicuous part  of  worship,  though  Isa.  xxx.  29  is  an 
instructive  indication  that  in  pre-exilian  Israel  songs 
did  form  a  feature  of  religious  cultus.  Pss.  xx.  and 
xxi.  are  obviously  patriotic  songs  on  behalf  of  the  king, 
and  belong  to  the  pre-exilian  and  regal  period  of  Israel's 
life.  Temple-psalmody  evidently  received  an  immense 
impetus  from  Israel's  exile  in  Babylonia,  where  stately 
songs  of  praise  were  composed  in  honour  of  Babylonian 
gods  (especially  Shamash  and  Marduk),  as  well  as 
penitential  psalms  or  litanies.  Contact  with  Baby- 
lonian civilisation  and  worship  during  the  exile  must 
have  familiarised  the  Jew  with  these  forms  of  ritual. 

When  we  come  to  the  late  post-exilian  age  in  which 
the  Books  of  Chronicles  were  probably  written  (about 
250    B.C.)    we   find  that   a  large    place  is  assigned  to 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  143 

David  as  the  organiser  of  the  worship  and  psalmody 
of  the  temple.  Note  I.  Chron.  xvi.  4  ff.,  and  the 
citation  in  verses  8-36  of  a  poetic  passage  compounded 
with  variations  from  Ps.  cv.  1-15  and  Ps.  xcvi.  ;  also 
the  organisation  of  temple  music  attributed  to  David 
in  chap.  xxv.  1-6.  It  is  evident  that  a  considerable 
proportion  of  our  present  Psalter  existed  at  that  time, 
though  not  in  quite  the  form  in  which  we  now  have  it. 
It  is  probable  that  most  of  the  earlier  Psalms  are  to  be 
found  in  Book  i.  and  some  in  Book  ii.,  and  that  as 
a  rule  the  later  Psalms  belong  to  the  later  books. 
But  the  early  place  of  a  Psalm  in  the  Psalter  is  no 
proof  that  it  was  composed  at  an  early  date.  Thus 
Psalm  i.  is  obviously  late,  and  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  Psalm-collection  on  account  of  its  special 
character  and  contents. 

The  Psalm-titles  show  that  Psalms  were  distributed 
into  distinct  groups.  Thus  Pss.  42  to  49  are  called 
Psalms  of  the  sons  of  Korah.  Pss.  73-83  are  called 
Psalms  of  Asaph.  Pss.  120-134  are  called  Psalms 
of  Degrees,  a  much-discussed  term.  Some  regard  them 
as  so  called  because  they  were  the  Psalms  chanted 
at  varied  stages  of  the  annual  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem 
for  the  feasts.  Others  explain  the  term  as  due  to  certain 
internal  characteristics  of  style.  Besides  these  we 
have  Pss.  105-107,  which  might  be  called  Praise-Psalms 


144     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

(based  on  the  opening  phrase).  Pss.  111-115  and  146- 
150  for  a  like  reason  are  called  Hallelujah-Psalms. 

It  is  generally  recognised  that  some  of  the  Psalms 
belong  to  the  time  of  the  Maccabsean  persecution  and 
struggle.  Pss.  44,  74,  79,  83,  116,  and  118  may  with 
considerable  probability  be  assigned  to  this  period. 
Ps.  30  is  regarded  as  a  Psalm  of  dedication,  and  was 
perhaps  composed  to  commemorate  the  purification 
of  the  temple,  after  its  desecration  by  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  in  165  B.C.  (I.  Maccab.  iv.  52) 

Some  of  the  Psalms  are  alphabetic,  i.e.  are  in 
nature  acrostic.  Of  this  Ps.  119  is  a  well-known 
example.  We  have  another  instance  in  Pss.  9  and  10, 
which  originally  formed  one  Psalm  (as  in  the  LXX). 
In  Ps.  X.  there  is  a  gap  in  the  alphabetic  arrangement 
which  has  been  filled  up  from  another  source.  Other 
examples  of  alphabetic  Psalms  are  Pss.  25,  34,  37,  iii, 
112,  and  145  (sometimes  of  successive  verse-couples, 
sometimes  of  single  verses  and  even  half- verses). 

It  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  time  when  a  definite  close 
to  our  Psalter  was  made.  In  the  prologue  (or  preface) 
to  Ecclesiasticus,  written  by  the  grandson  of  its  author, 
reference  is  made  to  the  "  other  books  of  our  fathers  " 
several  times  in  conjunction  with  "  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets."  This  preface  was  written  in  132  B.C.  But 
the    expression    "  other   books "   is    somewhat   vague. 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  145 

We  can  only  argue  that  much,  not  the  exact  whole, 
of  our  Psalter  was  included. 

§  21.  The  Book  entitled  the  Proverbs  (or,  as  its 
full  title  in  the  original  runs,  "The  Proverbs  of 
Solomon,  son  of  David,  King  of  Israel,"  chap.  i.  i) 
consists  of  many  utterances  or  sayings,  the  main  purpose 
of  which  is  to  instruct  men  in  what  is  called  "  Wisdom  " 
or  the  right  conduct  of  Hfe.  We  might  call  them 
moral  and  religious  maxims,  for  all  the  morals  incul- 
cated have  a  religious  foundation.  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  the  beginning  (or  fundamental  principle)  of 
wisdom.  In  other  words,  its  ethical  philosophy  was 
essentially  religious  in  its  basis.  We  are  here  entering 
upon  a  special  class  of  Hebrew  writings  called  the 
TJ^isdom-li\:eTa.ture,  to  which  the  Book  of  Job,  Ecclesi- 
astes,  Ecclesiasticus  (or  Book  of  Jesus  son  of  Sirach), 
as  well  as  the  "  Wisdom  of  Solomon  "  belong. 

The  Book  of  Proverbs  falls  naturally  into  the 
following  divisions: — 

(i.)  Chap.  i.  1-6  may  be  regarded  as  the  title  and 
explanatory  preface. 

(ii.)  Chap.  i.  7-ix.  18,  to  which  the  above  seems  to 
be  attached  as  a  preface.  It  forms  a  treatise  of  moral 
instruction  specially  intended  for  young  men,  presented 
in  the  form  of  exhortations  by  a  father  to  his  son  to 
take  Wisdom  as  his  guide  (see  especially  chap.  iii.).     In 

K 


146     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

chaps,  vii.  and  viii.  we  have  the  personified  contrasts 
of  Folly  and  Wisdom,  each  of  whom  presents  her 
respective  incentives.  We  are  reminded  of  the  fable 
of  Prodicus  respecting  the  appeals  of  Vice  and  Virtue 
to  Hercules  (Xenophon,  Memorabilia^  II.  i.  2 1-34).  In 
viii.  22-29  there  is  introduced  a  philosophy  of  creation 
which  is  of  considerable  value  to  the  student  of  the 
growth  of  the  idea  of  the  creative  word  (Logos),  and 
clearly  shows  that  chaps,  i.-ix.  are  comparatively  late. 

(ii.)  Chap.  X,  i-xxii.  16,  to  which  the  title  "  Proverbs 
of  Solomon  "  is  prefixed  (not  found,  however,  in  LXX, 
probably  owing  to  chap.  i.  i).  This  section  forms  the 
actual  kernel  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  and  probably 
the  oldest  portion.  The  characteristics  of  this  section 
are  vast  variety  of  topic  and  slight  thread  of  arrange- 
ment. Moreover,  each  verse  is  an  independent  and 
complete  whole,  and  in  most  cases  expressed  in  the 
form  of  an  antithesis. 

(iii.)  Chaps,  xxii.  17-xxiv.  22  are  designated  in  the 
opening  verse  "  Words  of  the  Wise."  Once  more 
the  truths  are  presented  in  the  form  of  a  father's 
instruction  to  his  son. 

(iv.)  Chap.  xxiv.  23-34  are  an  added  appendix  to  the 
above. 

(v.)  Chaps,  xxv.— xxix.  are  another  collection  made 
by  the  men   of  Hezekiah,  King  of  Judah.     So  it   is 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  147 

stated  in  the  title  (xxv.  i),  and  there  is  no  strong 
ground  for  disputing  the  statement  (so  Driver  as 
against  Cornill).  The  fact  that  II.  Chron.  xxix.-xxxii. 
make  no  reference  to  Hezekiah's  literary  activity  can 
hardly  be  regarded  as  an  argument  of  much  weight, 
since  so  much  space  is  devoted  by  the  chronicler  to 
Hezekiah's  religious  reorganisation  that  little  space  is 
left  for  secular  details. 

(vi.)  Chaps,  xxx.-xxxi.  contain  addenda,  {a)  Chap. 
XXX.  contains  the  words  of  Agur,  son  of  Jakeh.  These 
are  frequently  of  an  enigmatic  character,  and  show, 
especially  in  verses  1-9,  an  advanced  stage  of  religious 
thought,  {b)  Chap.  xxxi.  1-9  contain  the  instructions 
addressed  to  King  Lemuel  by  his  mother,  warnings 
against  self-indulgence  and  exhortations  to  deal  justly 
with  the  poor.  The  Aramaic  in  place  of  Hebrew 
forms  in  this  short  section  are  indications  of  lateness. 
{c)  Chap.  xxxi.  10-31,  an  alphabetic  poem  in  praise  of 
a  "  virtuous  "  woman. 

The  contents  of  this  entire  book  were  evidently  of 
gradual  growth,  and  it  is  generally  agreed  that  chap. 
x.  i-xxii.  16  (ii.)  form  the  oldest  portion  of  the  entire 
collection.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  Solomon  was 
the  author  of  the  collection.  He  is  hardly  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  probable  author  of  exhortations  to  curb 
the  fleshly  passions  and  to  practice  monogamy.     The 


148     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

ascription  of  both  this  book  and  other  portions  of 
Wisdom  literature  (Ecclesiastes  and  "  Wisdom  of 
Solomon")  to  Solomon  is  doubtless  due  to  I.  Kings 
iv.  29  ff.  (v.  9  f.  Heb.),  and  the  later  popular  tradi- 
tion which  enhanced  his  fame  and  found  its  way  into 
Arabic  literature.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  proverbs  form  one  of  the  most  ancient 
types  of  Oriental  poetry,  oral  or  written  (Judges  ix. 
8-15,  xiv.  12-14;  I.  Sam.  x.  12,  xxiv.  14;  I.  Kings 
XX.  11).  It  is  therefore  quite  possible  that  some  of 
the  proverbs,  especially  in  sections  ii.  and  v.,  originate 
from  a  time  earlier  than  that  of  Solomon. 

§  22.  The  Book  of  Job  may  be  divided  into  three 
main  parts : — (I.)  The  Prologue  (chaps,  i.  and  ii.), 
written  in  prose^  which  narrates  in  a  series  of  scenes 
{a)  the  integrity  and  prosperity  of  Job  (i.  1-5);  ip) 
the  accusation  of  Job  before  God  and  his  council 
by  Satan  (i.  6-1 2) ;  {c)  the  disasters  of  Job  and  his 
unshaken  piety  (i.  13-22);  {d)  further  colloquy  be- 
tween God  and  Satan,  and  further  trials  of  Job's  piety 
designed  (ii.  1-6) ;  {e)  Job  smitten  with  leprosy.  He 
is  visited  by  his  friends  (ii.   7-13). 

(II.)  The  discussion  between  Job  and  his  friends, 
concluding  with  Yahweh's  speech  from  the  whirlwind 
and  Job's  repentance  and  submission  (chap.  iii.  i- 
xlii.  6).  This,  which  constitutes  the  main  portion  of 
the  book,  consists  almost  entirely  of  poetry,  and  may 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  149 

be  divided  into  several  subordinate  portions.  These 
are  mainly  three :  (a)  chaps,  iii.-xxxi.  consist  of  a  pro- 
longed argument  between  Job  and  his  friends,  often 
rising  to  great  bitterness ;  (^)  chaps,  xxxii.-xxxvii.,  the 
speeches  of  Elihu,  which  occupy  a  detached  relation  to 
the  entire  work;  (c)  chaps,  xxxviii.  i-xlii.  6,  Yahweh's 
utterance  and  Job's   submission  and  repentance. 

(III.)  Epilogue  (chap.  xlii.  7-17),  Job's  friends  re- 
buked and  his  piety  rewarded  with  double  prosperity. 

The  poetical  and  the  prose  portion  of  the  book, 
though  related,  move  in  different  planes  of  thought. 
The  reader  who  has  studied  carefully  the  discussions 
of  the  profound  problems  of  suffering  which  occupy 
chaps,  iii.  i  -  xlii.  6,  and  the  sublime  utterance  of 
God,  and  Job's  penitence  and  submission  at  the  close, 
must  feel  acutely  the  prosaic  commonplace  of  the  con- 
cluding verses  of  the  epilogue.  Both  prologue  and 
epilogue  (I.  and  III.)  form  the  main  portions  of  a 
popular  narrative  which  may  have  existed  in  some  form 
even  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Ezekiel,  to  whom  the 
story  of  the  righteous  Job  was  as  familiar  as  that  of 
Noah  or  Daniel  (Ezek.  xiv.  14).  Evidently  the  great 
poem,  which  forms  the  centre  of  the  book,  is  based 
on  the  main  facts  of  this  prologue,  but  follows  a  course 
of  its  own  in  which  Satan  falls  out  of  account,  and 
in  place  of  the  controversy  respecting  Job's  integrity 
between    God    and   the    calumniating    Devil,    we   are 


I50     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

involved  in  the  problem  of  Job's  suffering,  which 
agitates  with  increasing  bitterness  the  discussion  be- 
tween Job  and  his  friends.  The  latter  argue  that 
Job's  sufferings  are  the  penalty  of  his  own  sins,  which 
he  ought  to  acknowledge  before  God.  This  represents 
the  old  and  prevailing  conception  of  suffering,  and 
especially  of  disease,  as  due  to  the  sin  of  the  suffering 
individual  {cf.  John  ix.  2).  Against  this  view  Job 
utters  his  eloquent  protest  and  maintains  his  innocence 
(xxvii.  6).  Towards  God  his  language  varies  from  that 
of  sublime  trust  in  His  righteousness  (xiii.  15,  16,  xix. 
23-29)  to  an  almost  defiant  assertion  of  his  own  right 
and  God's  tyrannic  harshness  (ix.  11-18).  At  times 
it  seems  as  though  Job  regards  this  dim,  unintelligible 
world  as  wholly  immoral  {ibid.,  23,  24).  God's  address 
to  Job  out  of  the  tempest  comes  at  the  close  of  the 
protracted  colloquy.  God  condescends  not  to  reply 
to  Job's  arguments  or  pleas,  but  plies  him  with  an 
overwhelming  succession  of  questions  designed  to  show 
His  own  infinite  wisdom  and  power,  before  which  all 
that  is  human  shrinks  appalled  "like  a  guilty  thing 
abashed."     Job  can  only  reply  : — 

"  By  the  hearing  of  the  ear  have  I  heard  of  Thee, 
But  now  mine  eye  hath  seen  Thee. 
Wherefore  I  would  repudiate  [what  I  have  said] 
And  would  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 

Here  we  have  the  true  end  of  the  poem.     The  lesson 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  151 

which  it  teaches  is  that  the  whole  duty  of  man,  which 
Job  at  last  learns,  is  repentance  and  absolute  submis- 
sion to  the  awful  mystery  of  God's  infinite  power  and 
holiness.^ 

The  speeches  of  Elihu  (chaps,  xxxii.-xxxvii.)  have 
been  a  subject  of  much  discussion,  and  it  has  been 
generally  recognised  that  they  constitute  a  separable 
portion  of  the  poem,  for  (i)  Elihu  is  not  mentioned 
in  either  prologue  or  epilogue.  (2)  Job  makes  no 
reply  to  him,  and  the  final  utterance  of  Yahweh  bears 
no  reference  to  Elihu's  address.  Chap,  xxxviii.  2  forms 
a  natural  sequence  to  chap.  xxxi.  40,  of  which  the  last 
clause  seems  to  imply  that  the  colloquy  between  Job 
and  his  friends  had  closed.  (3)  The  style  and  language 
stand  somewhat  apart  from  the  other  discourses.  Job 
is  addressed  by  name  in  the  second,  instead  of  being 
mentioned  in  the  third  person.  (4)  He  develops  more 
fully  what  had  been  only  slightly  touched  upon  by 
the  other  friends,  viz.  Eliphaz  (v.  8  fif.,  17  if.).  He 
enlarges  on  God's  graciousness  and  mercy  (xxxiii.  16-30) 
and  the  disciplinary  power  of  affliction,  while  he  warns 
Job  to  beware  of  a  wilful  and  wrathful  spirit  (xxxvi. 
10-18).  It  is  generally  agreed  that  these  chapters  have 
been   subsequently    inserted    into   the   poem.     Was   it 

^  The  reader  will  find  an  excellent  exposition  of  the  significance 
of  the  poem  in  Peake's  "  Problem  of  Suffering  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment," chap.  V.  pp.  83-103. 


152     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

composed  by  a  later  hand  ?  Kamphausen  thinks  that 
it  was  by  the  poet  himself.  It  is  quite  possible  that  at 
a  later  time  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  develop  another 
solution  of  the  mystery  of  pain,  in  which  it  is  viewed 
as  the  discipline  of  an  all-wise  and  all-merciful  God 
(xxxvi.  22,  23,  xxxiii.  23-30).  It  is  to  be  noted  that 
chap,  xxxvii.  seems  to  anticipate  the  course  of  the 
following  utterance  from  the  whirlwind. 

This  book  stands  apart  in  many  respects  from  the 
other  Old  Testament  books.  The  land  of  Uz,  to  which 
Job  belongs,  cannot  be  defined,  except  that  it  is  situated 
in  North  Arabia,  east  of  Palestine.  Job  is  therefore 
a  foreigner,  and  also  his  friends.  There  are  many 
indications  in  the  apparent  echoes  of  Deutero-Isaiah, 
Psalms,  and  Proverbs  that  the  book  was  written  late,  in 
a  reflective  age,  and  arose  in  a  school  of  thought  which 
stood  apart  from  the  ecclesiastical  exclusiveness  of 
Jewish  writers  who  were  dominated  by  the  tendencies 
to  be  found  in  the  Priestercodex,  Chronicles,  and  Ezra. 
We  can  hardly  date  it  earlier  than  400  B.C. 

§  23.  The  Song  of  Songs  (or  Song  of  Solomon)  forms  the 
first  of  the  series  of  five  Megilloth  or  "  rolls  "  which  in- 
clude also  Ruth^  Lamentations^  Ecdesiastes,  and  Esther. 
The  love  of  a  husband  for  his  bride  and  of  bride  for 
husband  is  the  theme  of  this  book,  the  poetry  of  which 
"  is  exquisite  and  the  imagery  beautiful  and  singularly 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  153 

picturesque"  (Driver).  Though  some  older  scholars 
(following  Herder)  have  held  that  the  book  contains 
a  series  of  independent  songs,  most  modern  critics 
consider  that  it  rather  consists  of  a  sequence  of  scenes 
in  a  drama.  According  to  the  older  scholars,  as 
Delitzsch,  there  were  only  two  chief  personages  in 
the  drama,  viz.  King  Solomon  and  the  Shulammite 
(probably  for  "  Shunammite ")  maid  whose  affections 
he  wins.  But  later  scholars  have  followed  Ewald,  who 
holds  that  there  are  three  chief  actors,  viz.  the  two 
above  mentioned  and  a  young  shepherd  lover  to  whom 
the  Shulammite  maid  is  pledged,  and  to  whom  she 
remains  true,  though  Solomon  seeks  in  vain  to  retain 
her  in  his  Jerusalem  court.  The  triumph  of  true  love 
is  expressed  in  a  beautiful  song  in  the  closing  scene, 
viii.  5-7,  in  which  the  maiden  appears  "  leaning  upon 
her  beloved  "  (viii.  5). 

Valuable  light  has  been  thrown  upon  this  book  by 
the  German  consul,  J.  G.  Wetzstein,  who  has  described 
to  us  the  marriage  customs  which  prevail  in  modern 
Syria.  In  connection  with  the  wedding  there  are 
festivities  which  are  spread  over  a  whole  week,  called 
the  "  King's  week."  The  "  king  "  is  the  young  husband, 
who  corresponds  to  the  Solomon  of  this  book,  while 
the  bride  corresponds  to  the  Shulammite  maiden.  It 
is  supposed  that  the  "  Song  of  Songs  "  consists  of  a 


154     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

series  of  such  songs  as  would  accompany  a  similar 
wedding  celebration  in  ancient  Palestine. 

The  language  of  this  book  distinctly  marks  it  as 
belonging  to  the  Greek  period,  probably  after  300  B.C. 
Christian  writers  have  followed  Jewish  expositors  in 
treating  the  Song  of  Songs  as  a  spiritual  allegory.  But 
for  this  New  Testament  writers  afford  no  justification, 
since  this  book  is  never  quoted  by  them. 

§  24.  The  Book  of  Ruth  is  an  attractive  idyll  respect- 
ing the  life  of  David's  ancestress,  the  Moabitess  Ruth. 
From  this,  however,  it  cannot  be  inferred  that  we  have 
here  an  early  pre-exilian  work.  We  may  note  the 
opening  references  to  the  "judges,"  which  points  to 
a  time  when  the  Book  of  Judges  was  complete ;  also 
the  closing  genealogy  (iv.  18-22),  which  reminds  us 
of  the  style  of  the  Priestercodex.  These,  however, 
may  have  been  added  to  the  book  by  an  editor.  More 
decisive  are  the  clear  traces  of  later  style  in  the  body  of 
the  narrative.  On  the  other  hand,  it  can  hardly  be  said 
that  the  style  throughout  is  characteristic  of  a  post- 
exilian  document.  Nor  can  it  be  considered  a  priori 
probable  that  a  document  which  connected  David 
with  a  Moabitess  would  have  originated  in  or  after 
the  time  of  Ezra.  The  present  book  may  have  arisen 
from  a  pre-exilian  documentary  basis,  and  have  owed 
its  present  form  to  a  writer  who,  like  the  author  of  the 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  155 

Book  of  Jonah,  was  opposed  to  the  narrower  traditions 
of  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  The  mode  in 
which  the  custom  is  referred  to  in  Ruth  iv.  7  {cf.  Deut. 
XXV.  9)  as  ancient  points  to  a  late  post-exilian  period. 
The  position  of  the  book  in  the  Hebrew  canon  strongly 
confirms  this  view. 

§  25.  The  Lamentations  are  based  on  a  very  clearly 
marked  historical  situation,  viz.  the  capture  and  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  in  586  b.c.  The  inhabitants 
have  been  carried  into  captivity  after  terrible  experiences. 
After  bewailing  the  city's  desolation  and  misery  (i.  1-7), 
reference  is  made  to  her  sins  and  the  consequent  calamities 
that  have  befallen  her  (i.  8-22).  Chap.  iii.  is  a  mono- 
logue in  which  the  speaker  dwells  in  a  chastened 
spirit  on  the  severity  of  God's  past  dealings,  yet  waits 
in  quiet  expectation  of  His  mercy  in  the  coming  days 
(iii.  26-36),  and  utters  a  call  to  repentance  (37-42). 
After  recalling  the  previous  afflictions  of  Divine  wrath 
(43-54),  the  chapter  closes  with  the  confident  belief 
that  God  has  heard  the  sufferer's  prayer  and  will  bring 
retribution  on  the  foe  (55-66).  Chap.  iv.  once  more 
bewails  the  evils  of  the  past,  which  are  penalties  for 
past  transgressions  (verses  11,  13).  Chap.  v.  recalls 
the  miseries  of  the  immediate  past  and  present,  and 
is  a  final  appeal  to  Divine  pity. 

An   ancient  tradition   preserved   in   the   preface    of 


156     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

the  LXX  version  states  :  "  And  it  came  to  pass  after 
Israel  was  taken  captive  and  Jerusalem  desolated, 
Jeremiah  sat  down  weeping,  and  uttered  this  lamen- 
tation over  Jerusalem  and  said : — "  This  evidently 
stood  in  the  Hebrew  copy  employed  by  the  LXX,  and 
was  placed  there  by  a  later  editor.  There  are  many 
resemblances  and  parallels  between  Lamentations  and 
Jeremiah.  On  the  other  hand,  the  elaborate  alphabetic 
arrangements  in  the  original  of  chaps,  i.-iv.  (which 
are,  moreover,  not  uniform)  is  quite  at  variance  with 
Jeremiah's  free  and  emotional  prophetic  style.  More- 
over, the  political  temper  of  Jeremiah  was  averse  to 
Egypt  and  in  favour  of  Babylonia  (Chaldasa).  Cf.  Jer. 
xxix.  1-14,  xliv.  This  is  the  reverse  of  Lam.  i.  21  ff., 
iii.  59-66,  iv.  17.  Probably  these  "Lamentations" 
were  composed  in  the  latter  part  of  the  exile,  like 
Jer.  1.,  li. 

§  26.  Ecclesiastes  or  the  "  Preacher,"  is  a  book  of 
strange  contrasts.  The  writer  is  a  believer  in  God 
and  in  righteousness.  He  exhorts  the  young  man  to 
remember  God  (xii.  i).  The  lot  of  the  obedient  God- 
fearing man  is  better  than  that  of  the  sinner.  Wisdom, 
knowledge,  and  joy  is  bestowed  by  God  on  the  former, 
on  the  latter  pain  in  all  his  acquisitions.  Hence  the 
fear  of  God  is  inculcated  (ii.  26,  v.  7,  vii.  18,  26, 
viii.    12,    13).     Yet    it   is   a  cold  and  cheerless  world 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  157 

that  we  inhabit.  There  is  no  faith  in  personal  im- 
mortality. The  dust  returns  to  earth  and  the  spirit 
to  God ;  man  to  his  "  long  home  "  (xii.  5,  7),  Earthly 
pursuits  are  summed  up  in  the  pessimistic  phrase 
"All  is  vanity  and  sorrow"  (i,  2,  t8,  ii.  i,  11,  23, 
xii.  8).  At  times  materialism  and  epicureanism  and 
the  agnostic  mood  (xi.  5-10)  seem  all  the  writer's 
philosophy  of  life  (ii.  24—26).  The  book  reflects  a 
period  of  national  depression  and  hopelessness  when 
the  Jews  were  a  subjugated  people.  It  is  evidently 
late,  for  the  Hebrew  abounds  in  Aramaisms  and  evi- 
dences of  those  later  forms  that  are  found  in  "New 
Hebrew"  or  the  language  of  the  Mishna.  It  cannot 
be  much  earlier  than  200  B.C.,  and  may,  in  fact,  be 
even  later. 

§  27.  The  Book  of  Esther  is  a  Jewish  romance,  breath- 
ing a  spirit  by  no  means  harmonious  with  Christian 
ideals,  and  never  quoted  in  the  New  Testament.  The 
name  of  God  nowhere  occurs  in  it,  and  it  was  not 
accepted  without  protest  even  by  Jews  into  the  Canon  of 
Hagiographa,  though  there  are  many  signs  that  the  book 
enjoyed  considerable  popularity.  It  narrates  the  story 
of  the  rejection  by  King  Ahashuerus  (the  Greek  Xerxes) 
of  his  Persian  wife  Vashti,  and  of  the  entrance  of  the 
beautiful  Jewess  Esther,  the  adopted  daughter  of  the 
Benjamite  Mordecai,  into  the  exalted  position  of  queen 


158    BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

of  the  Persian  king.  She  thereby  becomes  the  means 
of  overthrowing  the  plot  of  Haman  to  massacre  the 
Jews.  Haman  is  hanged.  Mordecai  is  exalted  to  the 
high  honour  previously  occupied  by  his  adversary 
Haman,  and  the  Jews  wreak  a  terrible  vengeance  on 
their  adversaries.  In  H.  Mace.  xv.  36  we  read  that 
there  was  a  feast  called  the  "day  of  Mordecai,"  cele- 
brated on  the  14th  and  15th  Adar  (Feb.-March), 
immediately  following  the  "day  of  Nicanor,"  which 
celebrated  the  great  defeat  at  Adasa  of  Nicanor,  the 
general  of  the  Syrian  army  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
by  Judas  Maccab^eus.  This  "day  of  Mordecai"  is 
the  Feast  of  Purim  to  which  Esther  ix.  22  makes  re- 
ference. There  are  many  signs  in  the  language  and 
contents  of  the  Book  of  Esther  that  it  belongs  to  a 
late  period.  It  probably  arose  after  the  Maccabsean 
war  (165  B.C.),  when  the  spirit  of  national  exclusive- 
ness  in  the  Jewish  people  became  intensified.^ 

§  28.  The  Book  of  Daniel  exhibits  clear  traces  of 
its  origin  in  the  period  of  the  Maccabsean  struggle 
(168-160  B.C.),  though  the  narrative  of  Daniel,  as  a 
historical  personage  to  whom  Ezekiel  alludes  (xiv.  14), 

^  It  may  have  originated  in  the  same  age  that  produced  the 
book  oi  Judith  (see  "The  Apocryphal  Books"  (Century  Bible 
Handbooks),  p.  47),  though  not  from  the  same  circle  of  religious 
tendency. 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  159 

is  referred  to  the  time  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (605-562) 
or  the  early  period  of  the  exile,  contemporary  with 
Ezekiel.  But  this  Book  of  Daniel  was  evidently  com- 
posed centuries  after  this  date.  This  is  indicated  by 
many  internal  and  external  features. 

I.  Among  the  internal  features  we  note  :  (i)  Daniel 
was  a  prophet;  but  his  prophecies  are  quite  unlike 
those  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  or  even  the  earlier 
post-exilian  prophets  (Haggai,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi), 
in  being  Apocalypses  (like  "Second  Esdras,"  the  "Book 
of  Enoch,"  and  Revelation).  See  "The  Apocryphal 
Books"  (Century  Handbook),  p.  70  f.  (2)  The  history 
of  the  period  is  greatly  confused.  The  last  king  of 
Babylon  was  Nabonidus,  not  Belshazzar  (Dan.  v.  22- 
31  ^),  who  was  son  of  Nabonidus^  and  never  reigned. 
The  conqueror  of  Babylon  (in  538  b.c.)  was  Cyrus, 
not  "  Darius  the  Mede."  The  latter  seems  to  be 
blended  with  Darius  Hystaspis,  who  followed  and  did 
not  precede  (Dan.  vi.  i ;  cf.  x.  i)  Cyrus.  Darius 
Hystaspis  reigned  521-485  B.C.,  and  succeeded  Cambyses 
(529-521),  the  son  of  Cyrus.  These  confusions  could 
hardly  have  arisen  in  a  record  contemporary  with  the 
life  of  Daniel,  but  only  in  a  document  composed  long 
after  the  exile,  when  the  actual  course  of  events  had 

^  In  chap.  V.  18,  22,  Belshazzar  is  regarded  as  son  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. 


i6o     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

faded  from  the  memory.  (3)  The  prophecies  are  often 
nothing  but  symboHc  portrayals  of  the  past  and  con- 
temporary history  of  Western  Asia  during  the  Greek 
period.  This  appears  most  clearly  in  chap.  xi.  Chap, 
xi.  5-20  represent  the  history  of  the  Ptolemies  and 
Seleucids,  while  verses  21-39  describe  the  reign  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  and  his  oppressive  measures 
against  the  Jews  and  their  religion^  (b.c.  176-165). 
Similarly  the  vision  of  the  four  horns  in  chap.  viii. 
clearly  symbolises  the  four  kingdoms  which  arose  after 
Alexander's  death;  the  "Httle  horn"  is  evidently 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  (viii.  9-14,  23-25). 

II.  Among  the  external  indications  we  may  note : 
(i)  As  in  the  case  of  the  Book  of  Ezra,  a  portion  is  in 
Aramaic,  viz.  from  chap.  ii.  a^b  to  vii.  28.  Various 
reasons  have  been  advanced  to  account  for  this. 
Perhaps  the  most  probable  is  that  the  whole  was 
originally  composed  in  Aramaic,  but  the  beginning 
and  concluding  chapters  were  translated  into  the  old 
and  sacred  Hebrew  tongue,  in  deference  to  religious 
taste,  before  the  book  was  incorporated  in  the  canon. 
(2)  The  style  of  both  the  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  portions, 
especially  the  latter,  is  a  definite  proof  of  lateness. 
We  note  especially  the   Persian  words  that   occur   in 

^  See  Driver's  sketch  of  the  history,  accompanied  by  references, 
in  his  Introduction,  8th  ed.,  491  ff. 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  i6i 

both — chiefly  in  the  Aramaic — and  the  names  of  Greek 
musical  instruments  in  iii.  lo,  15.  (3)  The  separate 
position  of  Daniel  in  the  last  Canon  {i.e.  of  the  Hagio- 
graphci)  apart  from  the  earlier  Canon  of  the  Prophets, 
combined  with  the  fact  that  Daniel  is  not  mentioned  in 
Ecclesiasticus  (Jesus  son  of  Sirach),  where  reference 
is  definitely  made  to  Isaiah  (xlviii.  20-25),  Jeremiah 
(xlix.  6-7),  Ezekiel  (xlix.  8,  9),  and  the  twelve  minor 
prophets  (xlix.  10).  The  first  definite  reference  to  the 
Book  of  Daniel  is  to  be  found  in  I.  Maccab.  ii.  59,  60, 
obviously  based  on  Dan.  iii.  as  we  have  it. 

These  indications  clearly  point  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Book  of  Daniel  was  composed  after  180  B.C. 
(Ecclesiasticus)  and  the  great  Maccabsean  struggle, 
i.e.  about  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  163  B.C. 

The  work  falls  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  (i)  Chaps, 
i.-vi.  are  the  narrative  of  the  events  of  the  life  in  exile 
of  Daniel  and  his  three  friends,  Hananiah,  Mishael, 
and  Azariah,  who  were  raised  to  high  honour  by 
Nebuchadnezzar.  The  story  of  Daniel's  interpretation 
of  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream  in  chap.  ii.  and  the  issue  is 
similar  to  the  story  of  Joseph  in  Gen.  xli.  Chaps,  iii.  ff. 
record  the  severe  trials  of  Daniel  and  his  three  com- 
rades, from  which  they  are  saved  owing  to  their  per- 
sistent loyalty  to  the  religion  of  their  forefathers. 
(2)  Chaps,   vii.-xii.  contain  a   series   of  visions  which 

L 


i62     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

are  interpreted  to  Daniel  by  an  angel  (Gabriel  in  viii.  i6 
and  ix.  21).  The  frequent  mention  by  name  of  angels 
such  as  Gabriel  and  Michael  (x.  13,  21,  xii.  i),  only 
found  in  later  Jewish  literature  {e.g.  Book  of  Enoch 
ix.  I,  xl.  9,  &c. ;  Tobit  iii.  17,  v.  4,  vii.  8,  &c.),  is 
another  characteristic  trait  of  this  book. 

§  29.  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  form  in  reality  one  work, 
as  may  be  gathered  from  the  testimonies  of  the  Talmud 
and  early  Christian  writers/  as  well  as  other  indications. 
Moreover,  there  is  evidently  a  very  dose  connection 
between  the?n  and  the  Books  of  Chrofiicles.  We  have 
evidence  of  this  in  Ezra  i.  1-3^,  the  opening  verses, 
which  are  identical  with  II.  Chron.  xxxvi.  22  ff.,  stand- 
ing at  the  close  of  the  Book  of  Chronicles.  From  this 
we  may  infer  that  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  were  regarded 
as  an  immediate  sequel  to  Chronicles. 

The  contents  of  the  two  books  embrace  the  history 
of  Jews  in  Judaea,  and  more  especially  in  Jerusalem, 
from  the  return  of  the  exiles  under  Zerubbabel  after 
the  capture  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus  in  538,  down  to  the 
second  visit  of  Nehemiah  to  Jerusalem  in  432  b.c. 
These  we  shall  now  briefly  set  forth. 

The  Book  of  Ezra. — I.  Chaps,  i.-vi.,  a  preliminary 
retrospect    of  post-exilian  history,   describe  the  return 

1  The  evidence  is  given  in  Bishop  Ryle's  commentary  (Cambridge 
Bible  for  Schools),  Introduction,  pp.  ix.-xiii.,  in  full  detail. 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  163 

of  the  exiles  from  Babylonia  and  the  rebuilding  of 
the  Jerusalem  temple.  Chap,  i.  The  edict  promulgated 
by  Cyrus  after  the  capture  of  Babylon  (538  B.C.)  giving 
permission  to  the  Jewish  exiles  to  return,  restoring  to 
them  the  sacred  vessels  carried  off  by  Nebuchadnezzar 
icf.  II.  Kings  XXV.  13-17;  Jer.  xxvii.  16).  Chap.  ii. 
Register  of  numbers  and  families  who  returned,  and 
their  free-will  offerings  to  the  temple  restoration. 
Clmp.  in.  In  the  7th  month  (October)  of  537  b.c. 
the  altar  of  the  temple  is  erected  and  the  feast  of 
Tabernacles  celebrated.  In  the  2nd  month  (May)  of 
536  B.C.  the  foundation  of  the  temple  is  laid.  Chap.  iv. 
"  Opponents  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  "  (mainly  Samari- 
tans) ask  to  join  in  the  work  of  restoration,  but  are 
refused.  Accordingly  they  obtain  from  Cyrus  an  edict 
forbidding  the  further  progress  of  the  building.  The 
work  therefore  ceases  till  the  2nd  year  of  Darius,  520  B.C. 
Verses  6-23  describe  the  intrigues  through  the  corre- 
spondence of  Rehum,  Shimshai,  and  other  opponents 
of  the  Jews  with  the  Persian  court  at  a  much  later 
date,  viz.  under  Xerxes  (485-465  B.C.)  and  Artaxerxes 
(465-425  B.C.).  A  copy  of  the  letter  written  by  Rehum, 
Shimshai,  and  the  others  in  the  reign  of  the  latter 
monarch,  with  a  view  to  preventing  the  building  of  the 
city  walh^  is  given  in  verses  11-16,  and  the  king's 
reply    in  verses   18-22.     Obviously  this  entire  section 


i64     BOOKS    OF   OLD   TESTAMENT 

(6-23)  is  out  of  chronological  order.  Chap.  v.  resumes 
the  chronological  order  at  520  B.C.  with  the  energetic 
revival  of  the  temple  restoration  through  the  influence 
of  Haggai  and  Zechariah.  Chap.  v.  6-vi.  12  describe 
the  correspondence  of  Tattenai,  Shethar-bozenai,  and 
others  with  Darius  Hystaspis,  requesting  due  authorisa- 
tion for  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple.  An  affirmative 
and  encouraging  answer  is  given  by  Darius,  based  on  the 
original  decree  of  Cyrus  found  in  the  royal  archives. 
Verses  13-22  describe  how  the  work  of  rebuilding  is 
accordingly  pushed  on  and  the  passover  is  celebrated. 

II.  Chaps,  vii.-x.  We  now,  after  an  interval  of  about 
sixty  years,  come  to  the  time  when  Ezra  arrives  in  Jeru- 
salem in  the  7th  year  of  Artaxerxes,  458  B.C.,  and 
endeavours  to  effect  reforms.  Chap.  viz.  describes  the 
commission  of  Ezra  in  the  terms  of  the  royal  Persian 
edict.  Chap.  viii.  contains  a  list  of  the  emigrating 
families  of  the  Babylonian  exiles.  After  a  preliminary 
fast  on  the  river  Ahava,  they  make  their  way  to  Jerusalem. 
Chap.  i%.  Ezra's  proceedings  against  marriages  with 
foreign  wives.  Chap.  x.  A  great  popular  assembly  in 
Jerusalem  meets  Ezra,  and,  after  solemn  vows  to  reform, 
a  commission  is  chosen  to  deal  with  the  question  of 
mixed  marriages.  The  book  concludes  abruptly  with 
an  enumeration  of  the  men  who  had  taken  foreign 
wives  and  vowed  to  renounce  them. 


THEHAGIOGRAPHA  165 

The  Book  of  Nehemiah  might  be  divided  into  two 
main  portions,  corresponding  to  his  two  visits  to 
Jerusalem,  viz. : — 

I.  Chaps,  i.-xiii.  3  cover  Nehemiah's  first  visit  to 
the  city  and  his  administration.  Chap.  i.  Nehemiah, 
Jewish  cup-bearer  to  King  Artaxerxes,  learns  at  the 
close  of  the  year  445  b.c.  that  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
are  still  in  a  state  of  ruin.  Chap.  it.  Nehemiah  gets 
himself  appointed  in  444  as  Persian  governor  in  Jeru- 
salem. He  rides  by  night  around  the  ruined  walls. 
He  urges  the  "rulers"  to  rebuild  them.  Opposition 
of  Sanballat  and  others.  Chap.  in.  Distribution  of  the 
work  among  different  families.  Chap.  iv.  Scorn  and 
opposition  of  Sanballat.  Nehemiah  takes  measures  for 
the  defence  of  the  work.  Chap.  v.  Peasant  proprietors 
saved  from  the  pressure  of  land  mortgages  and  usury, 
imposed  by  wealthy  nobles,  through  Nehemiah's  inter- 
vention. Chap.  vi.  Nehemiah's  resistance  to  the  in- 
trigues of  Sanballat  and  his  confederates.  Completion  of 
the  wall,  after  fifty-two  days'  toil,  on  the  5th  Elul  444  B.C. 
Chap.  vii.  Means  taken  for  the  defence  of  Jerusalem. 
Another  version  of  the  list  in  Ezra  ii.  In  these  jfirst 
seven  chapters  the  narrative  proceeds  in  the  first  person. 
Chaps,  viii.-x.  Narrative  in  the  third  person.  Ezra  now 
enters  with  the  Levites  on  the  scenes.  In  the  seventh 
month  (Tishri)  444,  Ezra  publicly  reads  the  "  book  of 


i66     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

the  Law  of  Moses."  Celebration  of  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles, followed  two  days  after  by  a  public  confession 
of  sin  and  a  solemn  ratification  of  a  covenant  with  the 
people  by  Nehemiah.  Chap.  %i.  One  in  ten  chosen  by 
lot  to  dwell  in  Jerusalem  {cf.  vii.  4,  with  which  this 
should  be  connected).  List  of  their  names  and  also 
of  the  villages  and  towns  occupied  by  the  returned 
Israelites.  Chap.  xii.  List  of  priests  and  Levites  that 
returned  with  Zerubbabel  (verses  1-26).  Dedication  of 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem  and  appointment  of  overseers 
of  the  temple  chambers.  In  27-43  we  again  have 
the  first  person. 

II.  Chap.  xiii.  4-31  refer  to  the  absence  of  Nehemiah 
from  Jerusalem  and  his  return  (verses  6,  7).  This 
chapter  records  (again  in  the  first  person)  the  efforts 
of  Nehemiah  to  suppress  special  irregularities. 

From  the  above  analysis  of  the  contents  the  frag- 
mentary character  of  the  two  books  is  obvious,  and 
this  is  especially  true  of  Ezra. 

(i.)  Portions  are  taken  from  Aramaic  sources,  viz. 
Ezra  iv.  8-vi.  18  and  vii.  12-26.  This  is  especially 
clear  in  the  case  of  the  letter  to  Artaxerxes  and  his 
reply  (iv.  8-23).  It  is  possible  that  v.  i-vi.  18  belong 
to  the  same  original  document.  Moreover,  the  decree 
of  Artaxerxes  probably  stood  among  the  original  Aramaic 
documents  of  Ezra. 


THEHAGIOGRAPHA  167 

(ii.)  Special  note  must  be  taken  of  the  change,  both 
in  Nehemiah  and  in  Ezra,  from  the  first  to  the  third 
person,  and  vice  versa,  in  continuous  sections. 

(iii.)  The  unevenness  in  the  treatment  of  the  history. 
We  have  considerable  gaps  of  time  of  which  nothing 
is  said.  Note  especially  that  the  successive  verses, 
Ezra  vi.  22-vii.  i,  cover  the  sixiy  years  which  preceded 
Ezra's  advent.  This,  as  Driver  observes,  might  have 
been  done  by  a  writer  who  lived  long  after  the  time 
of  Ezra  and  surveyed  the  events  in  distant  perspective, 
but  would  hardly  be  probable  for  Ezra  himself. 

If  we  follow  the  indications  furnished  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  first  person  singular,  we  may  regard  Ezra 
vii.  27-ix.  15  as  consisting  of  the  Memoirs  of  Ezra, 
with  the  exception  of  viii.  35,  36.  With  reference  to 
Nehemiah,  it  is  pretty  generally  agreed  that  Neh.  i.  i- 
vii.  5  and  xiii.  4-31  are  continuous  sections  derived 
from  the  genuine  memoirs  drawn  up  by  Nehemiah. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  other  indications  con- 
tained in  the  Book  of  Nehemiah  which  are  evidences 
of  much  later  authorship : — 

(a)  Neh.  xii.  11,  22,  Jaddua  is  mentioned  who  was 
High  Priest  in  351-331  i^.c,  three  generations  later  than 
Eliashib,  the  contemporary  of  Nehemiah,  Neh.  iii.  i 
(cf.  xii.  10). 

{b)  In  Neh.  xii.  22  mention  is  made  of  Darius  the 


i68     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

Persian,  and  the  context  shows  that  this  must  have 
been  Darius  Codomannus,  the  last  King  of  Persia 
(336-332  B.C.). 

(c)  In  Neh.  xii.  26,  47,  the  expression  "the  days 
of  Nehemiah"  is  employed  as  though  the  writer  were 
surveying  them  in  somewhat  distant  retrospect. 

(d)  The  expression  "  King  of  Persia  "  used  frequently 
in  Ezra,  and  the  phrase  "Darius  the  Persian"  in 
Neh.  xii.  22,  were  hardly  possible  in  the  Persian 
period.  For  Persia  was  in  reality  absorbed  into  a 
wider  empire,  and  the  name  appears  but  seldom  even 
in  the  documents  of  the  time  of  Cyrus.  His  successors 
are  styled  "  King  of  Babylon "  or  "  Great  King,"  or 
more  commonly  "  King  of  Kings "  or  "  King  of  the 
Lands,"  or  simply  "  the  King." 

From  these  literary  data  we  may  reasonably  infer 
that  the  Chronicler  between  300  and  250  b.c.  compiled 
the  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  from  various  frag- 
ments and  sources,  the  most  valuable  among  them  being 
the  Memoirs  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  respectively. 

In  1893  a  Dutch  writer  Kosters  propounded  the 
view  that  the  first  four  chapters  of  Ezra  are  unhistorical, 
that  there  was  no  restoration  of  exiles  by  Cyrus ;  or 
foundation  of  the  temple  laid,  as  Ezra  narrates.  The 
rebuilding  of  the  temple  only  took  place  twenty  years 
later,  as   Haggai  and  Zachariah  narrate,  and  this  was 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  169 

carried  out  by  the  old  inhabitants.  But  these  sweeping 
conclusions  raise  far  greater  difficulties  than  they  can 
in  any  sense  be  said  to  remove.  On  this  subject  the 
reader  may  consult  the  Century  Bible,  "  Isaiah,"  vol.  ii. 
pp.  225-231,  and  G.  Adam  Smith,  **  Minor  Prophets," 
vol.  ii.  pp.  194-219. 

§  30.  The  Books  of  Chronicles  contain  the  entire 
history  from  Genesis  to  II.  Kings,  written  afresh,  from 
a  later,  i.e.  a  post-exilian,  standpoint.  It  is  the  stand- 
point of  the  restored  Jewish  state  and  church  recon- 
stituted by  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  in  which  the  religious 
ideas  and  sacerdotal  system  and  ritual  of  the  docu- 
ment P  have  recognised  validity.  The  Greek  name 
for  these  books  in  the  LXX  version  regards  the  work 
as  supplementary  to  the  older  historical  works  of  the 
Torah  (Law  or  first  Canon)  and  the  historical  books 
called  "  the  earlier  prophets."  What  is  added  consists  in 
the  main  of  statistical  and  genealogical  details,  as  well  as 
those  which  concern  religious  cultus  and  organisation. 
Only  occasionally  do  we  find  other  historical  narratives ; 
nor  can  they  be  regarded  as  reliable  records. 

The  contents  of  the  two  books  may  be  briefly 
summed  up  as  follows  : — I.  Chron.  i.-ix.  are  genea- 
logical and  statistical  in  character,  from  Adam  to  the 
close  of  the  reign  of  Saul.  From  I.  Chron.  x.  to 
II.  Chron.  xxxvi.  we  have  a  record  which  runs  parallel 


170    BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

to  I.  Sam.  xxxi.,  onwards  through  II.  Sam.  and  I.  Kings 
and  II.  Kings  as  far  as  II.  Kings  xxv.  21.  And  it 
is  quite  evident,  from  a  very  large  number  of  parallels 
in  which  we  have  verbal  or  almost  verbal  identity, 
that  the  older  canonical  books  of  history,  I.  Sam., 
II.  Sam.,  I.  Kings  and  II.  Kings,  must  have  been 
known  to  and  utilised  by  the  Chronicler.  And  yet 
we  find  as  we  pass  from  the  older  records  to  this 
new  historical  work  that  the  older  historical  material 
is  placed  in  a  new  setting  and  treated  in  a  different 
spirit.  While  I.  and  II.  Kings  contain  materials  em- 
ployed and  interpreted  by  Deuteronomic  redactors  {e.g. 
II.  Kings  xvii.  7-23),  we  have  in  I.  and  II.  Chron. 
historic  materials  redacted  and  set  forth  in  the  light 
of  new  circumstances,  a  new  order,  an  ecclesiastical, 
highly  developed  Jewish  state.  The  Northern  or  Eph- 
raimite  Kingdom,  whose  population  had  been  largely 
deported  in  732  and  721  e.g.,  had  long  ceased  to  pos- 
sess any  living  interest,  and  its  now  ancient  regal  his- 
tory and  antecedents  are  to  a  large  extent  dropped  out 
of  the  record,  except  so  far  as  the  framework  of  the 
story  necessitates  some  allusion.  For  we  are  now 
concerned  with  a  post-exilian  Jewish  state  and  religious 
system,  whose  antecedents  in  the  distant  pre-exilian 
days  of  the  Judaean  monarchy  are  described  to  us. 
The  work  of  a  historian  was  then  far  different  from 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  171 

what  it  is  in  these  modern  days  of  printed  books  and 
libraries  and  elaborate  historical  research.  The  history 
of  the  past  could  only  be  written  under  the  dominating 
influence  of  living  present-day  tendencies  and  ideas. 
And  those  influences  were  intensely  religious. 

A  clear  example  of  the  latter-day  influences  may 
be  found  in  I.  Chron.  xxix.  7,  in  which  the  princes  of 
the  fathers*  houses  give  5000  gold  talents  and  10,000 
darics  for  rebuilding  the  temple.  Now  the  dark  is 
an  anachronism.  It  was  a  Persian  coin  introduced  by 
and  named  after  Darius  I.  (Hystaspis),  who  reigned 
five  centuries  after  David.  Five  thousand  gold  talents 
(over  ^30,000,000)  is  a  characteristic  exaggeration  of 
number.  Similarly,  in  I.  Chron.  xxi.  25,  David  gives 
Ornan^  (II.  Sam.,  Araunah)  600  gold  shekels  (about 
;^i2oo)  for  his  threshing-floor,  whereas  in  II.  Sam.  xxiv. 
24  he  pays  the  more  modest  sum  of  50  silver  shekels 
(^6,  17s.  6d.)  for  both  threshing-floor  and  oxen,  which 
is  evidently  more  true  to  fact. 

^  Probably  the  Chronicler  here  (as  in  some  other  cases)  pre- 
serves the  more  correct  text  in  the  form  given.  There  is  doubtless 
a  tendency  to  idealise  the  David  of  ancient  days,  ancestor  of  an 
unbroken  line  of  kings  associated  with  the  Messianic  descendant 
of  Jewish  expectation  ;  and  this  lies  at  the  foundation  of  these 
enhanced  numerical  estimates  {e.g.  I.  Chron.  xxii.  14,  in  which 
David's  accumulation  of  treasure  is  stated  as  100,000  gold  talents, 
or  more  than  ;^6oo,ooo,ooo),  beside  1000  silver  talents. 


172     BOOKS    OF    OLD    TESTAMENT 

In  dealing  with  the  reign  of  David,  considerable  ex- 
tensions are  made  by  the  Chronicler  on  all  matters 
belonging  to  religious  ritual.  These  are  to  be  found 
in  I.  Chron.  xv.-xxix.  Chap.  xvi.  gives  details  re- 
specting the  Levites  that  are  to  minister  before  the 
ark.  A  psalm  is  introduced  made  up  of  the  late  post- 
exilian  Pss.  cv.  1-15,  xcvi.  1-13,  and  cvi.  i,  47,  48. 
Indeed,  the  space  devoted  to  sacerdotal  (Levitical) 
ritual,  and  especially  to  musical  details,  renders  it  fairly 
clear  that  the  Chronicler  was  a  Levitical  member  of 
the  temple  choir. — When  we  come  to  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah,  the  reformation  to  which  II.  Kings  xviii.  4 
refers  occupies  in  II.  Chron.  nearly  three  chapters, 
xxix.  4-xxxi.  21,  based  on  the  usages  of  the  post- 
exilian  legislation.  Uzziah's  leprosy  is  ascribed  to  his 
sinful  usurpation  of  the  priest's  sacrificial  office,  though 
that  office  had  been  discharged  by  kings  and  royal 
sons  (I.  Sam.  xi.  7;  II.  Sam.  vi.  13,  17,  18,  viii.  18; 
I.  Kings  viii.  64;  but  not  in  Chron.).  But  there  is 
no  trace  of  the  story  of  Uzziah's  conflict  with  the 
priesthood  in  II.  Kings  xv.  1-7.  While  these  addi- 
tional details  and  incidents  are  due  to  the  religious 
tendencies  and  traditions  of  post-exilian  Judaism,  and 
cannot  therefore  be  regarded  as  history,  it  would  be 
a  mistake  to  regard  all  additional  matter  in  the  Books 


THE    HAGIOGRAPHA  173 

of  Chronicles  (as  compared  with  I.  and  II.  Kings)  as 
wholly  untrustworthy.  There  are  substantial  reasons 
for  assuming  that  there  is  a  definite  historical  basis 
for  II.  Chron.  xxvi.  6-15,  respecting  Uzziah's  military 
enterprises  and  organisation,  as  well  as  his  agricultural 
and  other  improvements.  And  the  same  may  be  said 
of  the  narrative  respecting  Manasseh  (II.  Chron.  xxxiii. 

11-13)- 

Numerous  sources  for  his  narrative  are  referred  to 
by  the  Chronicler,  viz.  the  "  Book  of  the  Kings  of  Judah 
and  Israel "  (or  Israel  and  Judah)  and  the  "  Acts  of 
the  Kings  of  Israel"  (II.  Chron.  xxxiii.  18),  which  may 
in  reality  be  another  name  for  the  same  work.  It  is 
not  certain  whether  the  "  Midrash  of  the  Book  of 
Kings"  (II.  Chron.  xxiv.  27)  is  the  same  or  another 
more  extended  work.  There  were  also  special  bio- 
graphical works,  viz.  "The  words  of  Samuel  the  seer" 
(I.  Chron.  xxix.  29),  "The  words  of  Nathan  the 
prophet"  {ibid),  "The  words  of  Gad  the  seer" 
(ibid.)y  "The  words  of  Shemaiah  the  prophet  and  of 
Iddo  the  seer"  (II.  Chron.  xii.  15),  "The  words  of 
Jehu,  son  of  Hanani "  (II.  Chron.  xx.  34),  and  other 
works  of  like  character. 

The  style  in  which  the  Books  of  Chronicles  were 
written  exhibits  a  late  and  decadent  stage  of  Hebrew. 


174     BOOKS    OF   OLD   TESTAMENT 

Many  of  the  terms  which  are  used  only  belong  to 
later  post-exilian  Hebrew,  and  in  some  cases  are 
Aramaic  rather  than  Hebrew.  It  is  hardly  possible 
to  assign  to  the  work  an  earlier  date  than  300  B.C. 
As  we  have  already  indicated  in  §  29  (dealing  with 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah),  it  may  have  been  composed  as 
late  as  250  B.C.,  or  even  later  still. 


SHORT   CHRONOLOGICAL  CONSPECTUS  OF 
HEBREW    LITERATURE 


1 220  ?  The  Ten  Words  of  Moses  (in  earliest  form)  and  beginnings 

of  legislation. 
1200  or  later.    The  "  Song  of  the  Well"  (Num.  xxi.  17,  18)  and 

Miriam's  song  (Exod.  xv.  21). 
1 150  ?  Song  of  Deborah, 
1 1 50-1 100.   Songs  current  among  individual   tribes  embodied  in 

Gen.  xlix. 
1000  and  after.  David's  elegies,  II.  Sam.  i.  19-27,  iii,  33,  34. 

Supplication  in  danger  during  war  against  Eastern  neigh- 
bours, Ps.  Ix.  (in  part). 
Ps.  xviii.  (earlier  portion). 
Book  of  Jashar. 

Solomon's  Temple-song,  I.  Kings  viii.  12-13. 
Beginnings  of  State-memoirs  and  priestly  records. 
Book  of  Yahweh's  wars.     Balaam's  utterances  in  earliest 

form. 
Book  of  the  Covenant  (Exod.  xx.  26-xxiii.  19), 


Israel 

885.  Ballads  on  Moab's  over- 
throw by  Israel  (Num. 
xxi.  27-30;  Isa.  xv.,xvi.). 

850-750.  Ephraimite  narratives 
respecting    Elijah    and 
Elisha. 
Blcssiijg  of  Moses  (Deut. 
xxxiii.). 

760-740.  Elohistic  document  in 
its  earlier  form  (E'). 

745-725.  Oracles  of  Hosea. 

722-1.  Conquest  of  Samaria  by 
Sargon  and  downfall 
of  the  Northern  King- 
dom. 


J  itdah 


Vahwistic  document  in  its  earlier 
form  (T^). 


760-736.  Oracles  of  Amos. 
739.   Death  of  Uzziah.     Begin- 

ningof /ra/a-^'j-prophetic 

ministry. 
724-701.  i1/<tVa/^'j'oracles(i.-iii.). 


»7S 


176      BOOKS   OF   OLD   TESTAMENT 

B.C. 

660.  Later  portions  of  E  and  of  J. 

650.   Micah  vi.  i-vii.  6. 

640.  J  E  redaction. 

630.  Zephaniah' s  oracles. 

627.  Beginning  oijeremiah^s  prophetic  career. 

Nahiim^s  prophesies  against  Nineveh. 
621.  Reformation  of  Josiak^s  reign.     Dexiterononty  in  its  earliest 

form  of  published  legislation. 
605-4.  Jerefniah^ s   oracles    written  down   by  Baruch,     Jehoiakim 
destroys   the  roll.     A  fresh  roll  of  his  oracles  written  out 
with  additions. 
Completion  of  earlier  edition  of  the  Book  of  Kings. 
601.  Habakkuk^s  oracles. 
597.  Capture  of  Jerusalem  and  deportation  of  many  inhabitants  to 

Babylonia. 
592.  EzekieCs  consecration  vision  in  Babylonia. 
586.   Final  capture  of  Jerusalem,  destruction  of  the  temple,  and 

deportation  of  inhabitants.      The  Exile ^  586-537  B.C. 
586-5.  Close  of  Jeremiah's  prophetic  career. 

Baruch's  biographical  memoirs  of  Jeremiah. 
570.  Close  of  Ezekiel's  oracles. 

Deuteronomic   redaction   of  Deuteronomy  and   of  historical 

books. 
Isa.  xiii.  2-xiv.  21. 
555.  '•  Servant-poems  "  of  Deutero- Isaiah. 
Jeremiah,  1.,  li. 
Lamentations  of  Jeremiah. 
540-37.  Deutero- Isaiah  (xl.-lv.). 
538.  Conquest  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus. 
Edict  of  restoratioyi  to  the  Jews. 
525.   Isa.  Ixiii.  7-lxiv.  12.     Probably  P^  drawn  up  about  this  time 

or  earlier. 
520.  Haggai's  oracles. 
520-518.  Zech.    i.-viii.      Pg   drawn   up    either    now   or   later   in 

Babylonia. 
458.  Malachi. 
458-445.  Trito-Isaiah  (Ivi.-lxvi.). 


CHRONOLOGICAL   CONSPECTUS    177 

B.C. 

445-432.  Original  memoirs  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 
404.  [oers   Prophecies.      Completion  of  Pentateuch   and  Book  of 
Joshiia. 
Many  Psalms  composed  after  this  date,  and  poitions  of 
Book  of  Proverbs,  and  other  Hebrew  literature  (includ- 
vcigjob). 
330.   Isa.  xxiv.-xxvii.     Zech.  ix.-xiv. 
250.  Books  of  Chronicles  (with  Ezra  and  Nehemiah)  assume  their 

present  form. 
200.   Ecclesiastes.     Conclusion  of  the  Prophetic  canon. 
165.    Maccabaean  struggle  against  Antiochus  Epiphanes.    Pss.  xliv., 

Ixxiv.,  cxvi.,  cxviii.,  and  other  Pss. 
1 63.  Book  of  Daniel. 


INDEX 


Aaron,  42 

Adovai,  12 

Agur,  words  of,  9,  147 

Ahab,  85 

Ahashuerus,  157 

Alphabetic  Pss. ,  144 

Amos,  126 

Angel,  14,  161  f. 

Antiochus  Epiphanes,  160 

Apocalyptic,  98,  159 

Archaeology,  5,  6 

Asherah,  46 

Atonement,  day  of,  38,  122 

Babylon,  elegy  on,  95 
Babylonian  names  of  months,  23 
Ballads,  8,  96 
Barak,  58  f. 
Baruch,  no  f. 
Belshazzar,  159 
Book-making  2 
Burdens  =  utterances,  95 

Calendar,  Hebrew,  23 
Canaanite  names  of  months,  23 
Canon,  52,  90 
Chronicles  of  Kings  of  Israel,  9, 

Chronicles  of  Kings  of  Judah,9,83 
Chronicles,  Books  of,  142  f. ,  162, 
169  f. 


Covenant.  Book  of,  37,  49 
Cuneiform,  5 

Damascus,  oracle  on,  96 
Daniel,  158  f. 

Darius  Hystaspis,  134,  159 
Darius  Codomannus,  168 
David,  62  ;   his  elegies, 73  f.  ;  war 

against  Ammon  and  Aram,  75  ; 

Last  Words,  76  ;  Davidic  Pss., 

76,  141 
Deborah's  song,  7,  57  f. 
Decalogue,  20,  22 
Deutero-Isaiah,  91,  102  f. 
Deuteronomy,  43  f.  ;  Deuterono- 

mic  redaction,  57,  60,  77  f.,  88  f. 
Dumah,  oracle  of,  97 

Ecclesiastes,  156 
Ecclesiasticus,  144,  161 
Egypt,  oracles  on,  96,  99  f. 
Elegy  on  Saul  and  Jonathan,  73  ; 

on  Abner,  74 
Elihu,  speeches  of,  151 
Elijah  narrative,  85 
Elisha  narrative,  85 
Elohim,  12,  19 
Elohistic  document,  12,  17  f. 
Ephod,  59 
Esther,  157  f. 
Exodus,  35 
Ezra,  13,  162  f. 


i8o 


INDEX 


Flood,  17 

Gad,  173 
Genesis,  28 
Gilgal,  64 

Habakkuk,  132 

Haggai,  134 

Haglograplia,  138 

Hainan,  157  f. 

Hanna,  song  of,  66 

Hezekiah,  50,  88 ;  Psalm-prayers 

of,  92 
Hieroglyphics,  5 
Higher  Criticism,  6 
High  Places,  47 
High  Priest,  13 
Holiness,    code    of,    24,    26,    38, 

122 
Hosea,  123  f. 
Host  of  Heaven ,  46 

ISAlAH-biographies,  87 
Isaiah,  book  of,  91  ff. 

Jabin,  58 

Jaddua,  167 

Jashar,  book  of,  8,  73,  81 

Jehoiachin,  114 

Tehoiakim,  113 

Jehu,  86 

Jeremiah,  no  ff. 

Jeroboam,  87 

Job,  148  ff. 

Joel,  125  f. 

Jonah,  129 

Joseph-narrative,  30 

Joshua,  book  of,  53  f. 

Josiah,  13 

Judges,  book  of,  55  ff.  ;   "minor 

judges  "  and  "  greater  judges," 

6x 


King's  week, 


t53 


Lamentations,  155 
Lemuel,  Words  of,  9 
Leviticus,  book  of,  37  f. 
Lower  Criticism,  6 

Malachi,  108,  137 

Mamre  (Hebron),  16 

Mas  ha  I.     See  Ballads 

Megilloth  (Rolls),  152 

Merodach  Baladan,  88 

Mesha,  stone  of,  96 

Messianic  passages,  102,  130,  134, 

135 

Micah,  59  ;  of  Moresheth,  129  f. 

Minor  Prophets,  123  f. 

Miriam,  36 

Mizpah,  65 

Moab,  oracle  on,  96 

Molech,  47 

Mordecai,  157 

Moses,  II,  35  ;  Song  of,  50  ;  Bless- 
ing of,  51 

Nahum,  131 
Necromancers,  47 
Nehemiah,  13,  162,  165  f. 
Nineveh,  132 
Noah,  17 
Numbers,  39  f. 

Obadiah,  128 
Omri,  43,  86 
Oreb,  59 

Paddan  Aram,  27 
Padi,  97 
Passover,  46,  48 
Pentateuch,  10  f. 
Pillars,  47 
Priestercodex,  13,  23  f. 


INDEX 


i8i 


Prophets,  Canon  of,  50,  90 
Proverbs,  book  of,  9,  145 
Psalms,  139  f. 
Purim,  158 

Rabshakeh,  88 
Rahab,  99 
Resurrection,  98 
Ruth,  154 

Samuel,  61,  64  f. 

Sargon,  96 

Saul,  62  f. 

Septuagint,  4,  68  f. ,  89, 113,  115  f. , 

117,  119,  123,  156 
Servant  of  Yahweh  and  Servant 

poems,  106  f, 
Seth,  17 
Shaddai,  26 
Shaphan,  48 
Shebna,  98 
Shemaiah,  17 
Sisera,  58  f. 
Sodomites,  47 
Solomon,     79;     "acts"    of,     79; 

annals  of,  80 
Song  of  Songs,  152  f. 
Superscriptions.     See  Titles 


Taanach,  59 
Ten  Commandments,  37 
Teraphivt,  19,  'jo,  footnote 
Tiglath  Pileser,  124 
Titles,  140,  143 
Trito-Isaiah,  91,  107  f. 
Tyre,  utterance  against,  98 


Uz, 


152 


Vashti,  157 

WELL-song,  7 
Wisdom  literature,  145 
Wizards,  47 

Yahweh,  12,  footnote 
Yahv^'eh's  Wars,  Book  of,  8, 
Yahwistic  document,  12,  14  f. 

Zadok,  122 
Zalmunnah,  59 
Zebah,  59  . 

Zechariah,  134  f. 
Zedekiah,  114 
Zeeb,  59 
Zephaniah,  133 
Zerubbabel,  109 


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